The Cavaliers beat the Pistons 112-103 on Monday night at Rocket Arena and pulled their series even, with Donovan Mitchell pouring in 43 points to turn a tight game into a Cleveland finish. Mitchell scored 38 of those points in the second half, and the Cavaliers opened the third quarter with a 22-0 run that flipped the night.
The margin came with plenty of friction. Cleveland took 34 free-throw attempts to Detroit’s 12, was not called for a foul in the first quarter, and Mitchell alone made 13 free throws — more than the Pistons took as a team. Caris LeVert had kept Detroit ahead at halftime with 17 points in 16 minutes off the bench, but the Pistons could not withstand the surge after the break.
J.B. Bickerstaff did not hide his anger after the loss. He called the disparity unacceptable, said the team had not done enough to help itself, and added that since Cleveland arrived, the whistle has changed. He also said there was no way one player on their team should shoot more free throws than the entire Pistons roster. Across Games 3 and 4, Detroit was called for 20 more fouls than Cleveland, a span that ended 52-32 in foul totals.
That frustration has a real number behind it, but the game itself was decided before the officiating debate took over. Cleveland took 41 of 78 shots from behind the three-point line on Monday, while Detroit had 60 of 83 shot attempts as two-point field goals and never found enough answers once Mitchell got rolling. Ausar Thompson finished minus-27 in 18 minutes, and Jalen Duren had four turnovers and two rebounds in a loss that left Detroit chasing both the scoreboard and the whistle.
Duren offered a different view after the game. He said the Pistons could not blame the refs and added that they shot themselves in the foot. The series is tied because Cleveland dominated the decisive stretches at Rocket Arena, and the next game will tell whether Detroit can turn its anger into a response before the foul talk starts drowning out the basketball again.
