Donovan Mitchell scored 39 of his 43 points after halftime Monday night and carried the Cleveland Cavaliers past the Detroit Pistons 112-103 in Game 4, tying the Eastern Conference semifinals at 2-2 and sending the series back to Detroit.
Mitchell tied a playoff record set by Eric “Sleepy” Floyd in 1987, and he came one free throw short of taking the mark alone. With 27.6 seconds left, Mitchell missed the foul shot that would have made him the only player in league history with 40 points in a second half of a playoff game. He said teammates were quick to remind him of the miss, but the bigger issue for him was the result. Cleveland had done what it needed to do at home, and Game 5 is Wednesday night at Little Caesars Arena.
The turnaround was almost impossible to see coming after Mitchell missed his first six shots and did not hit his first field goal until 2:48 remained in the second quarter. He had only four points in the first half, and the Cavaliers trailed 56-52 at the break. Then the game flipped. Cleveland opened the third quarter on a 24-0 run, with Mitchell scoring 15 points during the burst, and the Cavaliers shot 10 of 12 from the field while converting five Pistons turnovers into nine points. By the time the run ended, the Cavaliers had seized control and were on their way to outscoring Detroit 38-21 in the quarter, with Mitchell scoring 21 of his own.
The performance fit the shape of the series as much as the game. Cleveland had already won back-to-back home games and remained unbeaten at home in the postseason, improving to 6-0 in its own building, while Detroit stayed winless on the road in the playoffs at 0-5. The Cavaliers needed this one to avoid going to Detroit down 3-1, and they got it with a second-half surge that doubled as one of the most explosive playoff scoring stretches ever recorded. Mitchell and James Harden scored or assisted on 89 points, according to Research, underlining just how much offense had to flow through one star when the moment tightened.
Mitchell said he was not trying to force the issue after the slow start. He described the approach as staying aggressive, knowing the shots would come, and when the second half opened up he focused on getting downhill and letting the game come to him. That patience turned into one of the defining bursts of his career. Evan Mobley added 17 points, eight rebounds, five assists, five blocks and three steals for Cleveland, while Cade Cunningham had 19 points, six assists and five turnovers and Tobias Harris scored 16 for Detroit. For the Cavaliers, the formula was simple enough to repeat: protect home court, survive the rough patches, and keep Mitchell in position to take over when the game turns. For the Pistons, Game 5 now becomes the test they failed to pass in Cleveland.
