Donovan Mitchell had 35 points and 10 rebounds as the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the visiting Detroit Pistons 116-109 in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals Saturday afternoon.
The fourth-seeded Cavaliers lost the first two games of the series in Detroit but ended the contest on a 12-5 run to remain unbeaten at home this postseason. James Harden came through in the clutch, scoring seven of his 19 points in the final 90 seconds.
“He’s an all-timer,” Pistons star Cade Cunningham said of Harden. “Being an isolation scorer is what he likes doing. Guys get into a rhythm and make shots when he got comfortable.”
Game 4 is Monday in Cleveland, where the Cavaliers are 10-1 all-time in the playoffs against the Pistons.
Cunningham posted the second triple-double of his playoff career with 27 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for the top-seeded Pistons but committed eight turnovers. Two of his miscues occurred in the final 2:32 — the first when Max Strus stole his inbounds pass and scored to put the Cavaliers ahead for good at 106-104.
Harden took over from there making a jumper, tough pull-up and a 3-pointer, the latter making it 113-109 Cleveland. Cunningham had buried a 3-pointer to pull the Pistons within one before Harden’s 26-footer. Mitchell then iced the win at the foul line with three makes in the last 20 seconds.
“We found a way to defend home court,” Mitchell said. “Collectively, we rebounded and executed — and James Harden does what he does. That’s why he’s here: his scoring, rebounding and passing.”
Jarrett Allen had 18 points and Evan Mobley added 13 points and eight rebounds for the Cavaliers. Mitchell scored his 1,000th career playoff point in the first quarter.
“Screw the rotations,” Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson said. “We just had to find the five guys who can help us win. I’m usually really strict on that, but in this situation, you’ve got to put your best players on the floor.”
Tobias Harris scored 21 points and gave Detroit its final lead at 100-98 with a 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter. Duncan Robinson scored 15 points and Paul Reed had 11 points in 10 minutes off the bench, all in the second half.
“We understand that (Harden) hit some tough shots and made an impact on the game,” Harris stated. “But we can be tougher than that.”
“It’s a series, and we had a great opportunity tonight. You’ve got to give them credit. They made tough shots.”
Reed made a layup to complete a 28-10 run to begin the third for the Pistons, who grabbed a 76-74 lead behind 10 points from Cunningham. Mitchell answered with consecutive hoops as Cleveland moved back in front 83-81 going into the fourth.
The Cavaliers outscored Detroit 32-18 in the second, fueled by 11 points from Mitchell and seven from Mobley to extend their advantage to 64-48. Mitchell scored 20 points and Allen added 13 in the first half, while Cunningham and Harris had 10 apiece.
The second featured a five-point Cleveland possession that saw Harden make a 3-pointer and miss the attached free throw, but Mobley grabbed the team’s first offensive rebound for a slam. The Pistons were called for three offensive fouls in the period.
“In the first half, we got great looks and open shots,” Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said.”They just did not fall for us. We’ve got to make sure we get shots on goal, so we can set our defense and make people have to work through it.”
Allen and Mitchell each scored nine points in the first as Cleveland went up 32-30 on the seventh lead change. Cunningham had six points, five rebounds and four assists for the Pistons, who jumped ahead 12-5 with Mitchell picking up two fouls in the first 2:45.
“Playing basketball in the playoffs with great teammates with great fans means the world,” Mitchell added. “We got one win, we’ve got to get another.”
–Field Level Media
