The Detroit Pistons stormed Cleveland’s Rocket Arena on Friday and, with no margin for error, triumphed 115-94 against the Cavaliers to take the East semifinals to a seventh and decisive game, set for Sunday in Detroit.
The Pistons shot above 50 percent shooting fueled by 21 points from Cade Cunningham, one of six Detroit players to finish in double figures in scoring, on a night when the Cavaliers squandered their first ‘game ball’ to reach the East Finals.
Pistons crush Cleveland and survive
Detroit put the Cavs away with a 61-43 second half finish and outplayed their opponents in virtually every facet of the game.
They were more accurate with their shooting, more aggressive with the three-pointers (16 of 36), more aggressive in rebounding and also dominant with their bench, which contributed 48 points to Cleveland’s 19.
Center Jalen Duren provided a scare in the third quarter when he suffered a sprained ankle.
But he was able to continue and signed fifteen points and ten rebounds.
Off the bench, Paul Reed contributed 17 points and Duncan Robinson, 14.
The Eastern Conference semifinals will go to a decisive Game 7
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For the Cavs, the leading scorer was James Harden, with 23 points, to which he added seven rebounds, four assists and four steals.
Donovan Mitchell scored 18 points, as did Evan Mobley, while Jarrett Allen was held to 13 points.
The Pistons again surrendered with their backs against the wall, as they had done in the first round against the Orlando Magic, when they rallied from 1-3 (Filed as: Pistons vs Cavaliers).
The pride of the Pistons
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The JB Bickerstaff-led franchise was coming off a traumatic overtime home loss to the Cavs.
But he was at his competitive best at the Rocket Arena in Cleveland.
The Pistons, a team that won sixty games in the regular season, their best record in twenty years, will have the opportunity for the second consecutive round to seal a bye in front of their home crowd.
The prize for the winner will be an Eastern Conference Finals against the New York Knicks, who swept the Philadelphia 76ers 4-0 and have been off the court for five days now.
The Pistons were up by three points at halftime, but the Cavaliers came in with the wind at their backs after cutting a deficit that reached 12 points.
Detroit strikes again and forces Cleveland to play for its life
But in the third period, the Pistons came back to make up ground, thanks to a 10-2 run that gave them an 84-70 lead.
The Cavs lacked brilliance and despite a good job in offensive rebounding, their lack of effectiveness ended their comeback hopes.
The Pistons, who won all four games this year with their backs against the wall in the playoffs, stepped on the gas and pushed their lead to 22 to send the series to a seventh and deciding game.
The Conference Finals will kick off next week, while the Finals will be played starting June 3 (Filed under: Pistons vs Cavaliers).
With information from EFE
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