CLEVELAND — The Cavaliers refused to let their season drift one more night. Cleveland beat the Pistons 116-109 on Saturday and trimmed Detroit’s lead in their Eastern Conference semifinal to 2-1, with Game 4 set for Monday in Cleveland.
Donovan Mitchell led the charge with 35 points and 10 rebounds, James Harden scored 19 and Jarrett Allen added 18 as the Cavaliers finally found a way to finish a tight game. Max Strus turned the final minutes with a steal and a basket that put Cleveland ahead 106-104 with 2:28 left, and Harden later hit a backcourt-style triple with 25 seconds remaining to stretch the lead to 113-109. “That changed the game right there,” Harden said.
Cade Cunningham answered with 27 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for Detroit, but his triple-double came with eight turnovers, and that mismatch helped undo a night when the Pistons again had chances. Cleveland’s win also ended a pattern that had followed it through the first two games of the series, when decisive moments slipped away and Detroit took control early.
Saturday’s game had 11 lead changes before Cleveland took over late. Harden helped steady it with a turnaround jumper from 16 feet to make it 108-104, then followed Cunningham’s dunk with a floater from seven feet to restore a four-point edge. Strus, who finished with seven points, five rebounds and one steal, said the assignment was simple: “My job is to help win in whatever way.”
Mitchell’s night carried extra weight beyond the box score. He reached 2,000 career playoff points in his 73rd playoff game, a benchmark that underlined how much Cleveland leaned on him after falling behind 2-0 in the series. “I think the most important thing is that he’s always consistent,” Mitchell said, referring to Harden’s role in the comeback.
Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said the result mattered because the series needed a response. He called it a team win in which “many guys contributed” and said Cleveland understood how important it was to get its first victory to keep the series alive. The group now gets a chance to build on it at home Monday, where another loss would put Detroit one win from the conference finals and another Cleveland surge would make the series much harder for the Pistons to close.
