Detroit is going back to Game 7, and the Pistons made sure of it with force. They beat the Cavaliers 115-94 on Friday night in Cleveland, turning a must-win road game into their fourth straight postseason victory when facing elimination.
Cade Cunningham led the way with 21 points and five 3-pointers, Jalen Duren added 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Daniss Jenkins scored 15. Paul Reed gave Detroit 17 points off the bench, Duncan Robinson hit four 3-pointers and scored 14 points off the bench, and Ausar Thompson filled the stat sheet with 10 points, nine rebounds, four assists, four steals and one block.
The win forced a decisive Game 7 on Sunday night in Detroit. It also extended a remarkable run for a team that has thrived when the season has been on the line. In the first round, the Pistons trailed the Magic 3-1 before winning three straight, including a road Game 6 and then Game 7. They have now won four elimination games in a row this postseason.
What changed Friday was the level Detroit brought from the start and the one Cleveland never found after halftime. The Cavaliers shot 39% overall and 29% in the second half, a stretch that let the Pistons turn a close game into a comfortable one. J.B. Bickerstaff said Detroit “did what needed to be done,” and added that when the Pistons are at their best, defense and physicality carry them. He said the group was able to play its style legally and make things difficult on opponents.
The numbers on Cleveland’s side told a blunt story. James Harden scored 23 points but also had eight turnovers. Donovan Mitchell finished with 18 points on 6-for-20 shooting. The Cavaliers entered the night with a 6-1 home record in the postseason and were trying to reach the conference finals for the first time since 2018, but they never found the second gear Harden said they needed. He said they never really got to that next level and that the offense and defense never settled into a consistent flow.
For Detroit, the mood after the win matched the results on the floor. Cunningham said the Pistons needed every bit of the performance and called it a collective effort. Jenkins, who scored 15 points, put the run in sharper terms, saying he was not supposed to be in this position, that the team feels special and that it wants to defy the odds. He added that the group knows it is playing against the world.
This is the second Game 7 of the playoffs for both teams, and Sunday night in Detroit now carries the weight of everything that came before it. The Pistons have already shown they can survive when they are backed into a corner. The Cavaliers have one game left to answer that.
