Because that might have been the only hardware this group sees for a while.

The Cleveland Cavaliers delivered the kind of emphatic beating that a legitimate title contender administers to a lesser foe, as they crushed the Pistons, 99-78.

Cleveland's Delonte West, who missed 16 games with a right wrist injury, made up for lost time with a game-high 25 points, which included five 3-pointers.

Sunday's nationally televised matchup was over before it really started. The Cavs did anything and everything they wanted, with little to no resistance from the Pistons.

This was not how Pistons coach Michael Curry or his players anticipated they would begin the first of the team's five consecutive road games against some of the NBA's top teams.

Cleveland opened with a 19-8 run, led by 16 points after the first quarter and nearly doubled Detroit's scoring output with a 67-34 halftime lead.

Curry has seen his share of disappointing performances by the Pistons, but Sunday's loss has to rank among the team's worst this season.

"We were out on the court playing like we don't like each other, or we're strangers," said Curry, whose comments were similar to those made from time to time by former Pistons coach Larry Brown, who now coaches Charlotte. "That was disappointing."

With the loss, Detroit (27-27) has dropped a season-high six straight, while the Cavs (43-11) improved on their NBA-best record at home which now stands at 25-1.

LeBron James delivered a series of scintillating layups and dunks before finishing with 20 points nine assists and five rebounds in just under 31 minutes.

But by no means was Sunday's massacre a one-man operation: Delonte West, Mo Williams, Zydrunas Illgauskas ... even Moondog the mascot.

Everyone clad in a Cavaliers uniform on Sunday night seemed to have their way on the court while the Pistons appeared dazed and stunned.

"We just weren't good," said Pistons guard Allen Iverson, whose 14 points led all Detroit scorers. "We stunk the gym up."

Cleveland beating Detroit wasn't a surprise.

But to do so in such emphatic fashion was something few could have envisioned, especially considering how well Detroit usually plays on the road.

Curry as well as his players continue to search for answers to how a team that just a few weeks ago was 10 games over .500, now finds itself one loss away from having a losing record this late in the season for the first time since 2001 when the Pistons finished 32-50.

"I know one thing," Iverson said. "We have to play harder, than the teams that we're playing against. That's for sure. Teams just play harder than us."

Detroit's lack of consistent effort has been an issue all season, with no remedy seemingly in sight.

Losing has a way of becoming contagious.

And soon after that, it becomes an accepted habit.

Pistons players shrug off the notion that they have come to accept defeat with open arms, even if their play repeatedly says to the contrary.

"You never give in. You never give in," said Pistons guard Richard Hamilton. "I don't think anybody on this team is ever going to do that. For the simple fact, we know what it means to win and we know how to win and nobody likes to lose. Nobody should be out here being comfortable with losing."