The Cleveland Cavaliers have yet to win a playoff series in the Donovan Mitchell era after losing Game 1. They hope that trend ends after they were defeated by the Detroit Pistons 111-101.
Cleveland had plenty of chances to win this game, but a poor start and too many turnovers allowed Detroit to come away with the win.
The Cavs found themselves down early. They opened the game on a 5-0 run, but quickly relinquished all the momentum from there. The Cavs turned it over six times in the first quarter,
which led to 12 points going the other way.
Meanwhile, Detroit didn’t turn it over once in the first quarter.
This meant that the Cavs had to work for everything offensively in the half-court, while the Pistons were able to supplement their offense with easy transition baskets. This all added up to Detroit taking an 18-point lead in the first quarter and closing the frame up 16.
Cleveland settled down a bit in the second quarter. They closed the gap to nine midway through the quarter, but couldn’t get it lower than that. Turnovers, particularly from the guards, remained an issue.
The Cavs got back into the game in the third. A 7-0 run at the start and middle of the quarter allowed Cleveland to chip away at the deficit.
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Max Strus provided a scoring spark in that frame. He had 10 points on 4-6 shooting, which included going 2-3 from beyond the arc with a steal.
The Cavs cut the Pistons’ lead down to three, but a strong close to the quarter, which included a Ronald Holland buzzer-beating triple, gave Detroit a seven-point lead heading into the fourth.
Cleveland carried the momentum into the fourth quarter. They pulled even midway through the final frame with seven-straight points by James Harden, after he had an awful first three quarters.
Detroit’s offense responded from there. After coming up empty on their next trip down the court, the Pistons scored on their next six possessions. The Cavs couldn’t keep pace as the Pistons came away with a 10-point victory.
Head coach Kenny Atkinson has stressed the importance of winning the possession battle all year. This game showed why.
The Cavs lost this game with their careless turnovers and inability to secure defensive rebounds.
Cleveland gave it away on 21.3% of their possessions (5th percentile). This translated to 20 turnovers, leading to 31 points for Detroit.
Harden was the worst offender. He gave it away seven times of his own. That’s unacceptable from a veteran starting point guard who was brought in to help in high-leverage situations.
This was coupled with the Pistons retrieving 34% of their missed shots (77th percentile). This allowed them to win in second-chance points 19-11.
The Cavs weren’t able to overcome these issues with their star backcourt
Donovan Mitchell wasn’t great by his standards. He was held to just 23 points on 9-19 shooting and had just two attempts at the free-throw line. Mitchell has yet to register 25 or more points or shoot better than 50% from the field in a road playoff game this season.
Harden provided 22 points, seven assists, eight rebounds, and seven turnovers in the loss. He shot just 6-15 from the field, which included going 1-7 from three. Most of Harden’s scoring came at the line, where he went 9-9.
Strus had 19 points on 7-13 shooting with five rebounds and two assists.
Evan Mobley was good for spurts, but couldn’t establish a consistent scoring rhythm. He had 14 points on 6-11 shooting with nine rebounds, five assists, and two blocks.
Foul trouble limited Game 7 hero Jarrett Allen to just 18 minutes. He had just two points on 1-4 shooting.
The Pistons were led by 23 points from Cade Cunningham on 6-19 shooting with seven assists. Tobias Harris and 20 points on 6-14 shooting, while Duncan Robinson provided 19 points on 5-8 shooting from three.
The Cavs had chances to win this game, but they couldn’t make the plays on either end when they needed to.
Game 2 in Detroit is set for Thursday at 7 PM.
