CLEVELAND: The Cavaliers got what they were looking for Thursday, and it wasn't a preseason victory.

That came with it, 96-90 in overtime over the Detroit Pistons, but after an all-around dreadful opener Tuesday, the Cavs their act back together.

It was far from a perfect performance and wouldn't really even fall into the ''good'' category, but it was better, which is the entire point of the current string of exhibition games.

The Cavs were cleaner at both ends of the floor and got interesting individual performances that were meaningful. They still found themselves behind by 18 points at one juncture, and several front-line players are still well off their form, but it was progress.

LeBron James looked like himself, scoring 17 points, all of them in the first half, with four rebounds, four assists and two blocks. Devin Brown showed just how he can help the team, playing three positions, picking up a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, and guiding a 25-6 run in the second half that made it a game.

Damon Jones also played well for a second consecutive game, scoring nine points, and the entire offense had more vision and cohesion while learning coach Mike Brown's new wrinkles.

''I think as we go along, we'll get more comfortable,'' Jones said. ''That is what preseason is for, to start one place in the first day of practice and grow from there.''

All that aside, the night really belonged to Dwayne Jones. Playing on a so-called ''make good'' contract, the young power forward took a giant step toward making the team. In 30 productive minutes, he scored six points, pulled down 13 rebounds and blocked five shots. He also got the Cavs to overtime by making two free throws not his forte with less than a second left in regulation.

''That's what we're looking for with one of these bigs trying to make the team,'' Mike Brown said. ''We're looking for a guy who is a presence in the middle who is going to rebound and defend.''

The Cavs also held a second consecutive opponent to less than 40 percent shooting. The Pistons, led by 12 points each from Chauncey Billups and Richard Hamilton, shot 37 percent.

It wasn't all uplifting, though. Drew Gooden was just 1-of-5 shooting and is now 3-of-17 in the preseason. Daniel Gibson who was no doubt a Pistons target following his 31-point performance in Game 6 of the conference finals last season was harassed by Billups into seven turnovers.

''I felt like they were going to try to send a little message to me,'' Gibson said.

Simmons out

An MRI exam performed Wednesday on forward Cedric Simmons' left ankle revealed a bone bruise. The team isn't saying how long that will sideline Simmons, who figured to get a chunk of minutes with Anderson Varejao unsigned. He probably will not play tonight against the Seattle SuperSonics or the two exhibition games in China against the Orlando Magic next week.

The Cavs will be conservative with the injury because Simmons has been dogged by problems with his left ankle for a year. He injured the ankle in training camp with the New Orleans Hornets in October 2006 and dealt with it throughout his rookie season. He reinjured the ankle July 9 while playing on the Hornets' summer league team and turned it again Tuesday.

Dribbles

Mike Brown hinted he might elect to sit James tonight, as he did last season on the second night of preseason back-to-back games. If so, it would take much of the intrigue out of the game because otherwise there's a chance James and Sonics rookie Kevin Durant could guard each other. . . . Because of a conflict with the Indians' game, tonight's preseason game will be broadcast on WMMS (100.7-FM).