NBA: Defensive pressure key in Pistons' Game 1 win over Cavs

Cade Cunningham scored 23 points and dished out seven assists, while Tobias Harris added 20 points and eight rebounds on Tuesday night to lead the Detroit Pistons to a 111-101 victory over the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Duncan Robinson contributed 19 points and Daniss Jenkins added 12 for the Pistons, who snapped a 12-game playoff losing streak against Cleveland. The win also marked Detroit’s first Game 1 playoff victory since defeating Orlando in the 2008 Eastern Conference semifinals.

Donovan Mitchell led the Cavaliers with 23 points, while James Harden finished with 22 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter.

Game 2 is set for Thursday night before the series shifts to Cleveland.

The Pistons led by as many as 11 points in the fourth quarter, but the Cavaliers responded with an 11-0 run to tie the game at 93 with 5:28 remaining. Harden powered the rally with nine points during that stretch. Detroit, however, regained control by tightening its defense and closing the game with an 18-8 run, highlighted by three straight dunks from Jalen Duren.

“Understanding what the moment means and what’s called for, and then having the poise to go out and execute it, are things we learned last series,” Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “Playing in three basically elimination games, you understand that urgency. You understand how important starts are, how to close, and how to finish. You grow a belief that you can. I think that series did a lot of that for us.”

Duren finished with 11 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.

Cleveland opened the game with the first five points, but Detroit quickly took control. After a 5-5 tie, the Pistons elevated their defensive intensity and consistently attacked the paint to take command on both ends.

“Got to look at it,” Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said of his team’s turnovers. “It always starts with spacing. Screening is another thing. They have elite defenders, and we have to get them off our ball handlers. They were stuck like glue to our guys. We have to do a better job there, and we have to win our spots. They took us off our spots, especially in the first half.”

Detroit outscored Cleveland 32-16 for the remainder of the opening quarter, converting six turnovers into 12 points while setting a physical tone early. The Pistons finished with 19 forced turnovers, turning them into 31 points.

“I thought our defense was dialed in early,” Harris said. “We were focused on getting stops, making plays offensively, and finding ways to create the matchups we wanted while playing within our rhythm and movement.”

Cleveland trimmed Detroit’s lead multiple times in the second quarter and cut it to nine on two occasions, the last at 53-44. The Pistons entered halftime ahead 59-46. Detroit committed six turnovers in the second quarter after a clean first period, but nine different players scored in the first half.

The Pistons extended their lead to 65-48 in the third quarter on a Duncan Robinson three-pointer, but Cleveland responded with a late push. The Cavaliers went on a 10-2 run to close the gap to 77-74, fueled by 14 bench points in the quarter, including 10 from Max Strus.

Detroit answered again, as Ron Holland hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer to give the Pistons an 83-76 lead heading into the fourth.

“I thought overall we did a good job of attacking them and finding our flow,” Harris said. “Teams that go to Game 7 usually relax in this type of game. We said before the game, don’t let that be us. We came out with the energy and focus to keep it going.”

— Field Level Media / Reuters