National Basketball Association

Pistons 112, Cavaliers 110 (OT)

Updated Mar. 5, 2020 12:24 a.m. ET

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CLEVELAND -- Jodie Meeks scored 20 points off the bench, and the Detroit Pistons beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 112-110 in overtime Wednesday on a night when both teams sat nearly all of their starters.

The two teams will meet again this weekend in the first round of the playoffs, so with nothing to play for, both sides cleared the bench. Meeks played 26 minutes Wednesday after logging 11 all year. He scored just two points this season prior to Wednesday.

Jordan McRae scored a career-high 36 points in a career-high 47 minutes for the Cavaliers but missed two of three crucial free throws in the final second with a chance to tie the game.

McRae limped to the free-throw line after he was fouled attempting a 3-pointer. He began cramping late in the fourth quarter and was hobbled throughout overtime. He played 47 minutes one night after playing 46 minutes in an NBA Development League playoff game for the Canton Charge.

McRae scored seven points in the last 1:13 of regulation to tie the game at 103 and force overtime. His 36 points were the second most by a Cavs player this season. LeBron James scored 37 points on three separate occasions.

The Cavs and Pistons last met in the postseason in 2009, when Cleveland swept the series. The Cavaliers also eliminated the Pistons in the conference finals in 2007 behind one of James' most memorable postseason performances.

James was on the bench dressed in a blazer Wednesday, but he will be ready for the Pistons this weekend. James hasn't lost a playoff game in the first round since Game 4 against the New York Knicks on May 6, 2012, while with the Miami Heat. He has won his last 13 first-round games.

The Pistons took three out of four against the Cavs this season, but Detroit coach Stan Van Gundy doesn't put much stock in it. The Cavs were without Kyrie Irving in one of the games, and both teams were playing on a back-to-back in another.

"Looking at the regular season, I don't think is very instructive," he said. "I mean, your sample size is three games (before Wednesday). It's just not enough of a sample size to say, 'Wow, why'd you have so much success?' I mean, we won two out of three. It's not like we won 20 out of 30.

NOTES: Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy doesn't put a lot of stock in Detroit winning two of the first three games between the teams. They'll meet again in the first round of the playoffs. "I don't think it's very instructive," he said. "Your sample size is three games. We played really well in two of them. ... It's not like we won 20 out of 30." ... The Pistons are one of five teams in the league to beat both Cleveland and Golden State -- the top seeds in both the East and West. ... The Cavs signed veteran G Dahntay Jones on Wednesday. Jones, 35, provides insurance while guards Iman Shumpert and Mo Williams fight left knee injuries. Shumpert is expected to be ready for the start of the playoffs. Jones spent all season in the NBA Development League. ... Cavs C Tristan Thompson ended the regular season playing in 370 consecutive games, a franchise record and the longest active streak in the NBA.