The Detroit Pistons continued their postseason surge Thursday night, defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers 107-97 to seize a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Guard Cade Cunningham led Detroit with 25 points and 10 assists, scoring 12 points in the fourth quarter as the Pistons pulled away late. Veteran forward Tobias Harris added 21 points, extending his streak of 20-point playoff games to seven.
Detroit closed the game on a decisive 10-2 run after Cleveland briefly grabbed an early fourth-quarter lead. The Pistons outscored the Cavaliers 28-22 in the final period while holding Cleveland without a made 3-pointer in the quarter.
The Cavaliers struggled from long range, shooting 7-for-32 from beyond the arc. Donovan Mitchell scored 31 points for Cleveland, while Jarrett Allen contributed 22 points and seven rebounds. However, the Cavaliers’ offense stalled late as Detroit’s defense tightened.
The victory capped another milestone in a remarkable turnaround season for Detroit. After winning 60 regular-season games and securing the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, the Pistons have emerged as one of the NBA’s biggest postseason stories. Earlier in the playoffs, Detroit erased a 3-1 series deficit against the Orlando Magic to advance to the conference semifinals.
Cunningham has become the centerpiece of Detroit’s playoff run. The All-Star guard scored a playoff career-high 45 points earlier in the postseason and followed that with a 32-point, 12-assist performance in Game 7 against Orlando.
Game 3 of the series is scheduled for Saturday in Cleveland, where the Cavaliers will try to avoid falling into a 3-0 deficit against a Pistons team that has carried its momentum from the regular season into May basketball.
