Chris Fedor of the Northeast Ohio Media Group: Speaking to reporters after the game, Kevin Love admitted something that has been apparent for quite some time: Cleveland's balance has helped take the offense to a new level, with a different guy capable of stepping up each night. Tuesday night belonged to Love, who had the hot hand early. "You just have to have a good rhythm and I felt I had that tonight, at least from the outside," Love said. "I knew it was going to be tough for them to guard me with their bigs that just aren't used to that. Being a 4-man and knowing the game, at least for that position, continues to go away from the basket, it's a tough guard. I knew the shot was going to be there all night and when you have LeBron finding guys the entire night it's just really tough to guard." He used that versatility to his advantage, with 14 of his 16 shots coming from three-point range. He made eight triples on the night, falling one shy of matching J.R. Smith's record of nine three-pointers made against the Pistons. "Kev had it going," James said.

Jeff Seidel of the Detroit Free Press: The fog machine went off, and the laser light show started, and Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores was sitting on the sideline. In the midst of this season of transition and transformation for the Pistons, here came Tayshaun Prince, back in the starting lineup for the Pistons, a blast from the past. On Tuesday night, Prince started his 837th game for the Pistons, counting playoffs and regular season. And he received a loud standing ovation from the crowd in the Palace before the Pistons played the Cleveland Cavaliers. It felt like old times all over again. ... Somebody asked him if the atmosphere in the Palace on Tuesday night compared to the old days, early in his career. When Prince was 24, the Pistons won the 2004 NBA title. "No," Prince said. "No. This place was rockin' man, no matter what the situation was at that time." No. This isn't the same. And this team is certainly not the same. Prince is in a different place now. He'll turn 35 on Saturday, the old veteran. But he still has something he can give this team, once he gets his legs back.

Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post: A seething Marcin Gortat, usually gregarious and effusive, was blunt Tuesday night as the Washington Wizards gathered their belongings for a late-night flight to Minneapolis. The Wizards had lost their fourth straight game, but his frustration went beyond the team result. Gortat spent three quarters tormenting the undersized Golden State Warriors front line. Coming off a 24-point, 10-rebound performance in Sunday’s loss to the Detroit Pistons, he had 16 points and 11 rebounds through three quarters of the Wizards’ 114-107 loss to the Warriors. But he didn’t log a second on the floor in the final period, continuing a recent trend of sitting out fourth quarters. Visibly perturbed after the game, Gortat said he expected to play in the fourth quarter. Asked if he was discouraged by Wittman’s decision to bench him, Gortat declined to respond. “Uh,” Gortat said before pausing for six seconds. “I’ll just say next question.” Coach Randy Wittman explained he decided not to play Gortat to counter the Warriors’ small-ball lineup, which featured the 6-foot-9 David Lee at center for most of the quarter. ... Point guard John Wall echoed Wittman’s reasoning. “It’s tough when a team goes with all five shooters,” Wall said.

Diamond Leung of The Oakland Tribune: Warriors guard Stephen Curry is scheduled to speak at the White House on Wednesday in support of the fight against malaria and could meet with President Obama. Curry, whose team plays at Washington on Tuesday, for the past three seasons has donated three insecticide-treated mosquito nets for every 3-pointer he makes as part of the United Nations Foundation’s Nothing But Nets campaign. Curry traveled to Tanzania in 2013 as part of the campaign to assist in the distribution of 38,000 bed nets, which are designed to be cost-effective in helping families in sub-Saharan Africa avoid malaria infection. Curry has been active with malaria issues since attending Davidson College, where his roommate, Bryant Barr, encouraged him to get involved. The White House event will mark 10 years of American leadership in fighting malaria, according to the President’s Malaria Initiative, which was launched by George W. Bush in 2005 and expanded under the Obama administration.

Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News: Though Tuesday night’s heated verbal exchange between Rick Carlisle and Rajon Rondo probably shocked many, Mavericks veteran Dirk Nowitzki pointed out that he’s seen others. “In my time now, in 17 years, I’ve been a part of a few,” Nowitzki said. “Bother guys are very competitive, want to win. So that was unfortunate, but like I said that wasn’t the first time I’ve seen anything like that happen and it won’t be the last.” During Carlisle’s seven seasons in Dallas, though, no one could recall a player-coach exchange quite this heated. During Dallas’ 2010-2011 NBA championship season, Jason Terry and J.J. Barea got into a shouting match during the game after Terry was critical of a play Barea made. Carlisle interceded and chewed out Terry. In essence, the coach had Barea’s back. “Sometimes dust-ups can even bring you together,” Nowitzki said. “I remember Coach had a dust-up with Jet right before the playoffs in 2011 and that probably was the best thing that happened to us — was Jet was on his best behavior throughout the whole playoffs. Sometimes stuff like that can bring both sides together.”

Mike Ganter of the Toronto Sun: Between them, Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan were a combined 3-for-16 in the second half. Mix that with the 20 points off 12 turnover in the half the Mavericks were gifted and it’s pretty easy to see how a game that had looked so good for the Raptors for three quarters could wind up in the loss column. Lowry refused to use fatigue as an excuse. “I don’t even think it was fatigue,” Lowry said. “I don’t know what it was tonight. We played hard and they just went on a run. We dropped our heads and myself I couldn’t make a shot.” Lowry for the first time all season admitted he’s in a bit of a funk. “They started blitzing me and double teaming me but they are shots I should make and right now I’m just not playing good basketball,” Lowry said. “Personally, I don’t believe I am.” That’s not to say the 99-92 final wasn’t a fitting result as the Mavericks were the much better team down the stretch. Unlike the night before in New Orleans, the Mavs had a clear advantage in the rest department and took advantage of that. Casey, though, saw as much good in last night’s game than he has in most of the Toronto losses this year.

Candace Buckner of The Indianapolis Star: Even when expecting an offensive flurry and the torrent of noise cascading down from the cheap seats inside Chesapeake Energy Arena, the anticipation isn't enough to actually endure the blows. In the quiet time before Tuesday night's game, the Indiana Pacers had prepared for everything that makes the Oklahoma City Thunder one of the most feared home teams in the NBA. But then, Russell Westbrook shrieked and scored. The Thunder splashed 3s. The sold-out arena went unhinged and the Pacers, for the first time in more than a month, digested a blowout defeat, 105-92. Indiana never held the lead and by the fourth quarter had fallen into a 23-point deficit even before coach Frank Vogel emptied the bench of his DNP crew to finish the game. "I don't remember the last time," C.J. Miles said, referring to the team being on the wrong end of a big loss. Miles would have had to think all the way back to the Jan. 21 game in Atlanta to recall that bad memory.

Jenni Carlson of The Oklahoman: Russell Westbrook sat out the fourth quarter Tuesday night.Didn’t do much sitting, though. There was arm waving. There was dancing. There was fist pumping and high fiving and smiling (yes, smiling) and head bobbing and merry making. These days, the Thunder superstar is worth watching no matter where he is on the court. On a night that the Thunder dispatched the Pacers, 105-92, grand play came from many. Serge Ibaka looked like he might not miss a shot. Enes Kanter showed offensive skill that will make Scott Brooks think long and hard about who will start at center once Steven Adams is healthy. And the Thunder bench was flat-out spectacular. Yet, there were times when you simply didn’t want to take your eyes off Westbrook. “He just continues to stack games up on top of one another,” Brooks said. “He’s played well.” Well? Westbrook’s stat line would suggest a more glowing term is in order — 20 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists. And remember, he notched that triple-double in three quarters, the second time this season he has done that.

Rick Morrissey of the Chicago Sun-Times: It’s looking more and more as if Derrick Rose’s body wasn’t built for the NBA, or maybe more to the point, that his knees weren’t built for the torque his explosive style of basketball puts on them. His spirit is most definitely willing, but that flesh of his is weak. The Bulls announced Tuesday night that their star guard would undergo surgery for a torn meniscus in his right knee. It will be his third knee surgery in almost 34 months, and his entire career is now in question. If you’re someone who relies on your knees for a living, you don’t go under the knife that many times and not feel the effects of it long-term. What a sad, depressing story it is. Many of us had held out hope that Rose would be fine after surgeries to each of his knees. We had seen how much he cared, had seen how much effort the kid had put into his rehabs. We had heard all the criticism that he wasn’t being tough enough in his comeback. Whether you liked him or hated him, everybody was frustrated by his lack of progress. Looking back on it now, maybe he knew something we didn’t.

David Haugh of the Chicago Tribune: The surreal news release came from the Bulls at 9:38 p.m., words that had to be read twice to be believed: "Derrick Rose reported today with right knee pain. An exam and subsequent MRI confirmed a medial meniscus tear of the right knee. Surgery will be scheduled, after which a timeline for his return will be determined." All over the town, jaws dropped and stomachs turned as shock slowly settled in. Huh? This couldn't be. No. Way. Not D-Rose. Not again. No athlete deserves three surgeries in three years, let alone a former MVP playing in his hometown. No matter how many bizarre things Rose said on the record, at least he was on the floor. No matter how crazy Rose drove you with his recent nonchalance or how many bricks he laid from 3-point range, as long as he was driving to the basket in good health, the Bulls had a chance to think NBA title. Now what are we to think about the Bulls' chances? (Not much.) What are we to make of Rose's future after a second surgery on the same right knee repaired in 2013? (Iffier than ever.) Wasn't Patrick Kane's injury enough angst for one night in the city? (Absolutely.)