Pistons beat Cavs 111-101, take Game 1 of series
Cade Cunningham scored 23 points and Tobias Harris added 20 as the Detroit Pistons defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 111-101 on Tuesday night in Game 1 of their second-round playoff series.
Duncan Robinson contributed 19 points for the top-seeded Pistons, who snapped an NBA record-tying 12-game postseason losing streak against a single opponent, a drought that dated back to the 2007 Eastern Conference finals, News.Az reports, citing AP.
Game 2 is scheduled for Thursday night in Detroit.
Detroit’s defense proved decisive, forcing 20 turnovers that led to 31 points against Cleveland’s high-powered backcourt of Donovan Mitchell and James Harden.
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“That’s what this series presents, but we’re up for a challenge,” Harris said. “I thought tonight we did a great job of that.”
Mitchell finished with 23 points, bringing an end to his NBA-record streak of scoring 30 or more points in nine consecutive series openers.
Harden added 22 points, while Max Strus chipped in 19 for the fourth-seeded Cavaliers, who battled back to tie the game midway through the fourth quarter after trailing for most of the contest and by as many as 18 points.
Harden, however, struggled with ball control, committing seven turnovers and taking responsibility afterward.
“You look within first,” he said. “Look at my turnovers and a lot of them are just on me and nothing they did.”
Cleveland center Jarrett Allen was held to just two points and three rebounds, a sharp contrast to his 22-point, 19-rebound effort in an elimination game against Toronto.
Both teams entered the matchup just two days after winning Game 7s in the opening round. The Pistons set the tone early, taking a 37-31 lead after the first quarter and extending it to 59-46 by halftime.
Cleveland trimmed the deficit to three late in the third quarter, but Ron Holland hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer to give Detroit an 83-76 advantage heading into the final period.
The Cavaliers again cut the gap to three early in the fourth, but the Pistons responded with an eight-point run to restore a double-digit lead.
Cleveland refused to fade, though. Harden, facing Detroit for the first time since being acquired by Cleveland, scored seven straight points to tie the game at 93 with 5:28 remaining.
Jalen Duren then shifted the momentum, blocking Harden’s next attempt before finishing three consecutive possessions with dunks, all assisted by Cunningham.
The Pistons, who won the Central Division by eight games over the defending champion Cavaliers, split their four regular-season meetings.
Detroit secured 60 wins and the top seed in the Eastern Conference just two years after a 68-loss campaign that included a single-season NBA record of 28 straight defeats.
They advanced to the second round for the first time since 2008 after rallying from a 3-1 deficit against Orlando in the first round.
Cleveland, meanwhile, reached the conference semifinals for the third straight year after defeating Toronto in seven games.
By Nijat Babayev
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