Cade Cunningham was having a bad game, the Cleveland Cavaliers were shooting a billion percent from the floor, James Harden was hitting everything and yet, somehow, some way, the Detroit Pistons were up 101-100 with just under five minutes to play. It was their opportunity to go up 3-0 and take full control of the series. Everything seemed to fall apart from then on, mostly because Cade Cunningham made a series of baffling errors that stymied the comeback.
Detroit ended up losing 116-109, but this
was an especially tough one to lose with everything that was on the line, battling back from a 17-point deficit, and seemingly having the game there for the taking. The game was tied at 104, but then Cunningham committed three critical turnovers on consecutive possessions.
The first was an exceedingly lazy attempt at an entry pass on a sideline out of bounds that was easily intercepted by the face guarding Max Strus, leading to an easy layup and a Cleveland lead. Then, an ill-advised attempt at an entry pass into Paul Reed was swallowed up by Jarret Allen. Finally, Cade drove the lane and blindly passed it into the corner but Harris was camped out above the breakline. He scrambled to get the ball but couldn’t corrall it without stepping out of bounds. The Cavs then doubled their lead to four after Harden patiently hit a stepback 15-footer. That two-possession lead flipped all the momentum in the game.
Cunningham attempted to make amends with five quick points on a dunk and a ballsy top-of-the-key three, but Harden answered right back with five of his own. And that was effectively ballgame.
Truthfully, I’m not sure the Pistons even deserved to be in it. They never really seemed like they’d put it all together on either of the floor, and a lot of players struggled tonight outside of the up-and-down play of Cunningham.
Daniss Jenkins looked every bit the minus-28 in his 18 minutes of action, and while JB Bickerstaff tried to alleviate that with some Caris LeVert minutes, those weren’t stellar either and meant Cuninningham wasn’t able to steal as much rest as you’d like.
The biggest problem, though, is the Pistons’ big men. Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart continue to struggle throughout these playoffs. Duren was limited to just four rebounds, fumbled several passes, and didn’t rotate quickly enough on defense several times. Isaiah Stewart has no lift or explosion, and his defensive presence is not being felt on the floor.
Bickerstaff dusted off Paul Reed, who helped lead the fourth-quarter comeback that got the Pistons the lead. Despite scoring 11 points in just nine minutes of action, Reed sat with 4:32 remaining and the game tied in favor of Duren. It did not work.
Conversely, it felt like Cleveland had everything working on both ends. Donovan Mitchell was a magician with the ball in his hands, finishing with a game-high 35 points. James Harden was patiently and methodically hitting every jump shot and actually distributing effectively. Evan Mobley had 13 and eight, and his ability to move around the floor and create driving lanes did wonders for the Cavs’ offense.
Cleveland’s three most important players all stepped up with their season on the line. Detroit couldn’t seem to get out of its own way.
The Pistons will look to steal one in Cleveland again, hopefully with a better all-around effort, on Monday. The Cavs will look to even things up and make this a best-of-three series.
