CLEVELAND -- Kyrie Irving had a big game. LeBron James returned to the court. And the Cleveland Cavaliers put it all together Friday night.Irving scored 25 points and James, returning to the lineup after sitting out a game, added 21 to help the Cavaliers rolled past the Detroit Pistons 104-81.Offensively and defensively it was the best weve played all year, as far as close to 48 minutes, said James, who rested Wednesday night in a loss at Indiana.James, made 9 of 14 shots and played only 28 minutes. Irving was 11 of 15 from the field with 11 assists -- one short of his career high -- in 29 minutes.Following a slow start that saw Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue call a timeout less than 2 minutes into the game after the Pistons hit a pair of wide-open 3-pointers.Lue only smiled when asked for specifics about what he told the players, but he was clearly unhappy.He didnt like our effort to start the game, James said. We got the message and we were able to change it around.He didnt need to tell us much, Irving said. We all understd.Cleveland led by 11 at the end of the first quarter, tk a 56-39 lead into halftime and continued to dominate. The Cavaliers built the lead to 33 points in the fourth quarter, allowing Lue to rest his starters for the entire final period. The defending NBA champions dont play again until Wednesday night.J.R. Smith, who returned after missing three games with a sprained right ankle, hit three 3-pointers and moved past the Mavericks Dirk Nowitzki into 15th place on the NBAs career list for 3s.Detroit coach Stan Van Gundy, who was unhappy with his teams defense and rebounding in Wednesdays loss to New York, benched his starters for the fourth quarter.There is no takeaway from tonight, we got crushed, Van Gundy said. We were just awful.Cleveland was 11 of 25 on 3-pointers and has reached double figures in all 12 games, an NBA record to start the season.Kevin Love scored 12 points and had 14 rebounds, and Tristan Thompson also had 14 rebounds.Lues early timeout paid off when Smith hit three 3-pointers, and James and Tristan Thompson scored on dunks.Jon Leuer led Detroit with 15 points. The Pistons starting five of Tobias Harris, Marcus Morris, Andre Drummond, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Ish Smith combined for only 37 points.Their guys all played really, really hard, Van Gundy said. We need to find people that play that hard.TIP-INSPistons: Harris was hit with a technical foul in the second quarter. ... Van Gundy plans on sticking with a nine-man rotation until his team is at full strength. G Reggie Jackson is still rehabbing from surgery on his left knee and hasnt played this season.Cavaliers: James had three assists and is four away from passing Guy Rodgers for 17th on the career list. .... Cleveland blocked eight shots, including four by Thompson. .... G Mike Dunleavy, who didnt play against Indiana, entered the game in the second quarter. He scored five points.TAKE A BREAKThe Cavaliers wont practice the next two days, which will provide a much-welcome rest.I cant remember when I had it like this in a season, James said. Were going to take full advantage of it.Its very important for our team, Lue said. Guys should feel refreshed and healthy.UP NEXTPistons: Host Celtics on Saturday night. 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"Im lking up at the board and hes got two hits given up and one run, and Im taking him out after the fourth inning," Roenicke said. tballliverplstore.com/Women-Jordan-Henderson-Liverpl-Jersey/" target="_blank">Jordan Henderson Liverpl Jersey .Y. - Free agent outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury, fresh off winning the World Series with Boston, reached agreement with the rival New York Yankees on a seven-year contract worth about $153 million, a person familiar with the negotiations said Tuesday night. tballliverplstore.com/Women-Xherdan-Shaqiri-Liverpl-Jersey/" target="_blank">Xherdan Shaqiri Liverpl Jersey . Patrice Bergeron and Daniel Paille scored 20 seconds apart a few minutes after Stamkos was taken off the ice on a stretcher with a broken right leg, and the Bruins beat the Lightning 3-0 on Monday afternn. NEW YORK -- The 105th regular-season game between the New York Mets and New York Yankees, played Monday night at Citi Field, might have been the most unusual one yet.The teams will lk to return to normalcy Tuesday night when the Mets host the Yankees in the second game of a four-game, home-and-home Subway Series.The Yankees won the series opener Monday, when Starlin Castros sacrifice fly in the top of the 10th inning produced a 6-5 victory. The game featured two ties and three lead changes but was as memorable for what happened beforehand, when both teams made two trades.The Yankees (53-52) are 5 1/2 games behind the American Leagues two wild-card leaders -- the Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays -- but they continued to rebuild by trading outfielder Carlos Beltran to the Texas Rangers for three prospects and right-handed pitcher Ivan Nova to the Pittsburgh Pirates for two players to be named.Both Beltran and Nova were at Citi Field when the trades were announced, so pulling off a wild win on a day in which the club bid gdbye to two teammates was doubly satisfying for the Yankees.Its been a little bit tough because we lost gd people in the trades, Castro said, but we dont have any control over this. Weve just (got to) continue grinding out like we did today. Were going to miss those guys, but well try to go out there, have some fun and play hard.The Mets (54-51), who are 2 1/2 games behind the Miami Marlins in the race for the National Leagues second wild card, acquuired outfielder Jay Bruce from the Cincinnati Reds and left-handed pitcher Jonathon Niese from the Pittsburgh Pirates.ddddddddddddA win would have been extra gratifying for the Mets, who squandered a 5-3 lead in the eighth inning. They technically had a 25-man roster Monday but were without the services of injured shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera (left patellar tendon) and outfielder Yoenis Cespedes (right quad strain). As a result, manager Terry Collins had to use pitcher Steven Matz to pinch-hit in the sixth inning.Its something youve got to do and get through it, Collins said. We were in gd shape. We got ourselves where we wanted to be.Mets right-hander Jacob deGrom (6-5, 2.56 ERA) is scheduled to oppose Yankees right-hander Masahiro Tanaka (7-3, 3.16 ERA) on Tuesday.DeGrom threw seven shutout innings in his most recent start last Thursday. However, he didnt get a decision after closer Jeurys Familia blew the save by allowing two runs in the top of the ninth inning of a 2-1 loss to the Colorado Rockies.Tanaka tk his first loss in more than six weeks last Wednesday, when he gave up four runs over five innings as the Yankees fell 4-1 to the Houston Astros. He was 4-0 with a 2.84 ERA in seven starts dating back to his previous loss, June 11.Following the Tuesday game, the teams will play a two-game set at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday and Thursday. ' ' '