CLEVELAND — Just call them the Comeback Cavaliers.

Cleveland’s latest rally came Tuesday, when it overcame a 17-point deficit to beat the Detroit Pistons 101-100 in front of 13,459 at Quicken Loans Arena.

Alonzo Gee

It was the fifth time this season the Cavs (13-17) have won after being down by double figures.

“We have a bunch of guys in the locker room who believe we can win games,” Cleveland coach Byron Scott said. “Even when we’re down in the fourth quarter, we have a belief we can come back. No one’s sitting on the bench thinking the game is over.”

The Pistons (11-23), who led 72-55 with 4:27 left in the third period, now hold the distinction of being the biggest comeback victim of the Cavs, who were down 15 against Dallas, 14 against the Los Angeles Clippers and Charlotte and 11 vs. Boston.

The latest rally would not have happened were it not for rookie point guard Kyrie Irving and reserve small forward Alonzo Gee, who combined for 30 of the team’s 35 points in the fourth quarter.

Irving, who finished with 25 points, five rebounds, a career-high eight assists, two steals, two blocks and six turnovers, had 17 points in the final period, which began with the Cavs down 77-66. The 6-foot-3, 191-pounder also had three rebounds and two assists in the quarter, when he shot 6-for-9 from the field and was perfect on three 3-pointers.

“I could sense he was on a little bit of a roll,” Scott said. “We tried to keep it in his hands as much as possible and get him to attack.”

Gee, who finished with 16 points and a career-high 11 rebounds, was just as good, putting up 13 points and six rebounds in the fourth quarter.

“He brought the energy we needed,” Irving said. “He got really important rebounds and he got defensive stops. He’s definitely a real important player for us.”

So was 35-year-old veteran Antawn Jamison, who was the only positive thing the Cavs had going through three periods. Though he finished just 7-for-14 from the line, Jamison scored 29 of his 32 points over the first three quarters and added 10 rebounds for the night.

“I’ve got to give a lot of props to Antawn Jamison, who I thought for the first three quarters kept us in the game,” Scott said. “He was the only one who showed up.”

That changed in the final 12 minutes.

After falling behind by 17 in the third, the Cavs got back within 11 by the end of the period and Irving and Gee took over in the fourth.

In a great 1:08 stretch, Irving hit a 3-pointer to put the Cavs up 89-87, scored on a left-handed drive to make it 91-87 and then, after Gee poked a ball loose, threw a no-look, over-the-shoulder pass back to his streaking teammate for a dunk that made it 93-87 with 3:09 to go.

“I knew he saw me,” Gee said. “I didn’t have to say anything. He sees everything.”

Just when the Pistons saw this one slipping away, they stormed right back to tie the game at 95 on a Brandon Knight 3-pointer with 1:02 left.

After Irving missed a long jumper, the Cavs tracked down the ball and Gee eventually missed a runner on the baseline. But the third-year pro came up with the rebound and threw down another dunk to put Cleveland up two with 25.4 seconds left.

“I saw where the ball was going,” Gee said. “I kept playing and got it and dunked it.”

Ben Gordon then missed on a drive and Irving made two free throws with 11.2 ticks on the clock to put the Cavs up four.

Gordon scored on an uncontested drive with 5.2 seconds left, but Daniel Gibson iced the game for the Cavs with two free throws before Gordon hit a meaningless 3-pointer at the buzzer.

“We hit shots,” Irving said. “The crowd started to feed off it and it felt good. It was a good win.”

Knight, who was 8-for-12 from the field and 4-for-5 on 3-pointers, had 24 points for the Pistons, who also got 19 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists, three steals and a block from center Greg Monroe.
“Irving and Gee, they kicked our tail,” Detroit coach Lawrence Frank said. “They willed it back for them.”

Second chances

The Cavs were outscored 26-14 in the second period, when they were 3-for-14 from the field and had eight turnovers, four of them by Irving. Cleveland had just eight points over the first 10 1/2 minutes of the quarter.

• Cavs center Semih Erden suffered a cut over his right eye midway through the first period that required four stitches, while Gee got a bloody nose late in the quarter.

Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4061 or rnoland@medina-gazette.com.

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