DETROIT – The top-seeded Detroit Pistons have snapped their Game 1 drought by defeating the No. 4 seed Cleveland Cavaliers 111-101 inside Little Caesars Arena.
Before the game on Tuesday (May 5), Detroit had lost 12 straight games against Cleveland in the playoffs and had lost six straight Game 1’s, with their last victory coming in the 2008 Eastern Conference Semifinals.
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Cleveland is 3-0 in a playoff series when they take Game 1 in a playoff series since Donovan Mitchell joined the team.
They are now 0-3 when they lose the opening game of a playoff series.
Cade Cunningham finished the game with 23 points, while Tobias Harris chipped in with 20 points, and former Michigan Wolverines standout Duncan Robinson added 19 points in the victory.
Daniss Jenkins finished with 12 points while Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson added 11 points each in the victory.
It was the Donovan Mitchell (23) and James Harden (22) show as they combined for 45 points in the defeat.
1st quarter
The Cleveland Cavaliers opened Game 1 of their playoff matchup against the Detroit Pistons with early energy on Tuesday night, but Detroit closed the first quarter on a strong run to take a 37-21 lead.
Cleveland won the opening tip and quickly got on the board when Evan Mobley missed an initial rim attempt but collected the offensive rebound for a putback and a 2-0 lead.
Detroit’s Cunningham missed the team’s first shot before Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell hit a 25-foot 3-pointer to extend the lead to 5-0.
Harris got Detroit on the scoreboard by drawing a foul on James Harden and converting both free throws.
Cleveland controlled the offensive glass early, recording multiple offensive rebounds in the opening minutes.
Cunningham answered with a 3-pointer, and after Mitchell responded with a jumper, the game began to tighten.
Thompson split a pair of free throws before Robinson gave Detroit its first lead with a 3-pointer.
Duren was denied at the rim by Mobley on a strong defensive play, but Harris followed with an aggressive drive to draw a foul and hit both free throws as Detroit led 11-7.
Mitchell and Cunningham exchanged baskets before Detroit began to separate.
After a turnover by Jarrett Allen, Robinson found Harris for a layup, prompting a Cleveland timeout with 6:41 remaining and Detroit ahead 15-9.
Harden briefly cut into the deficit with a layup, but Allen picked up his third foul while defending Duren, sending him to the line, where he made both free throws.
Detroit’s defensive pressure continued as Jenkins recorded a steal and finished at the rim, followed by a jumper that pushed the lead to double digits.
Mobley responded with a 3-pointer off an assist from Sam Merrill, but Cleveland’s Max Strus later committed a traveling violation.
Isaiah Stewart added to Detroit’s advantage at the line after drawing a foul on Harden, and Cunningham connected from beyond the arc following a Stewart assist.
Thompson then found Stewart inside for a layup that extended Detroit’s lead to 30-14 as the Pistons built a 15-3 run with 2:45 remaining in the quarter.
Strus briefly ended the run with a 3-pointer, but Detroit responded again as Cunningham was fouled on the inbounds play and converted both free throws.
Detroit dominated at the line, hitting 11 of 12 free throws in the quarter.
Dennis Schröder added pressure late, drawing Jenkins’ second foul and converting both free throws.
After a missed 3-pointer by Javonte Green and a Cunningham miss inside, Mitchell hit a midrange jumper. Green answered at the buzzer with a 3-pointer; however, Detroit led 37-21 at the end of the first quarter.
2nd quarter
Mitchell opened the stretch with a floater, and Schröder later found Bryant for a six-foot jumper.
Thompson answered with a reverse layup to keep Detroit in control early in the second quarter.
After Schröder missed at the rim and Green missed a corner 3-pointer, Thompson briefly stole possession but turned the ball over and was later whistled for his second foul of the game.
Mitchell then drilled a 25-foot 3-pointer, prompting a timeout from Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff with 9:34 remaining in the half as Detroit led 39-28.
Thompson responded by feeding Stewart for a dunk, but Stewart was later called for an offensive foul while setting a screen for Cunningham.
Thompson picked up his third foul while contesting a Bryant shot at the rim.
Bickerstaff challenged the call at the 8:44 mark, and officials overturned the ruling, assigning the foul to Harris instead and costing Cleveland a timeout.
Bickerstaff moved to 6-2 on challenges this season.
Bryant made both free throws, but Robinson answered with a 3-pointer before Strus responded with one of his own to keep Detroit ahead 44-33.
Harden drew Robinson’s third foul and converted both free throws.
After a brief scoring lull, Thompson finished a contested layup, and Bryant missed a 3-pointer as Cleveland struggled to capitalize on second-chance opportunities.
Cunningham then found Harris for a 23-foot 3-pointer.
Duren was fouled hard after an offensive rebound and split his free throws following a Cleveland timeout with 4:59 remaining.
Detroit led 50-35 after Duren’s trip to the line.
Harden was later called for an over-and-back violation, but Thompson responded with a dunk off a Jenkins assist to extend Detroit’s run to 8-0 before Harden answered with a 3-pointer.
Harris was fouled by Strus, his third, and split a pair of free throws as Detroit led 53-38 with 3:37 left.
Mitchell later found Keon Ellis for a 3-pointer, and Thompson added a chase-down block on Ellis on the ensuing possession.
Harden then connected with Mobley for a 3-pointer to briefly cut the deficit back to single digits.
Cunningham was stripped by Mitchell, but responded by drawing a foul on a coast-to-coast drive and splitting a pair at the line to push the lead back to 10.
Ronald Holland II scored on a driving foul shot but missed the free throw, and Dean Wade later stole the ball from Cunningham, leading to two Harden free throws.
Cunningham was later fouled on a 3-point attempt by Wade and made all three free throws, extending Detroit’s lead to 13 with 31.5 seconds left in the half.
Ellis missed a 3-pointer before Harris grabbed the rebound and missed a contested attempt at the buzzer.
Cunningham led the Pistons with 14 points while Harris followed suit with 10 points to lead the team.
Cleveland was led by Mitchell’s 14 points, followed by Harden’s nine points and Mobley’s eight points to end the half.
3rd quarter
Robinson helped Detroit regain control early in the third quarter, and Holland II capped the period with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer as the Pistons carried an 83-76 lead into the fourth against the Cavaliers on Tuesday night.
Robinson opened the second half with a 3-pointer and added another from beyond the arc off a Duren assist.
Evan Mobley answered with a jumper and a layup, while Dean Wade connected on a 3-pointer to keep Cleveland within striking distance.
Mobley continued to impact both ends, and Allen added a block on Duren before Cleveland forced a shot-clock violation.
Wade followed with an offensive rebound and putback during an 8-0 Cavaliers run that cut Detroit’s lead to 65-55 with 9:03 remaining, prompting a Pistons timeout.
Cunningham stopped the surge with a layup out of the break.
After a Mobley jumper, Detroit forced a turnover that led to an Ausar Thompson dunk off a Robinson assist.
Allen responded with a hook shot but picked up his fourth foul attempting to contest Thompson at the rim. Thompson made both free throws to give Detroit a 71-59 lead with 7:24 to play.
Strus later hit a 24-foot 3-pointer to trim the deficit to single digits, but Detroit answered when Harris converted a coast-to-coast dunk off a Cleveland turnover, extending the lead to 73-62 with 6:11 remaining and forcing a timeout from Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson.
The Cavaliers chipped away again.
Schröder scored on a layup and, after a Detroit turnover, added another basket to cap an 8-0 run that cut the deficit to 75-71 with 2:25 left in the quarter.
Cunningham responded with a contested layup, but Strus knocked down another 3-pointer to make it 77-74.
Moments later, Cunningham drew a foul on a 3-point attempt and made all three free throws to push the lead back to six.
Strus missed a deep 3-pointer on the next possession, and Holland secured the rebound.
After a Detroit miss, Strus leaked out for a dunk to cut the deficit to four.
Holland answered at the buzzer, knocking down a 3-pointer to give Detroit a seven-point advantage heading into the final quarter.
4th quarter
Cleveland erased a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter, but the Detroit Pistons answered to regain the lead midway through the quarter in Game 1.
Strus opened the quarter with a three-point play after drawing a foul on Ronald Holland II and converting the layup and free throw. Moments later, Dennis Schröder was assessed a technical foul, though Cunningham missed the ensuing free throw.
Detroit responded as Robinson knocked down a short jumper off a Duren assist.
Cunningham was later called for traveling, and Mitchell found Schröder for a contested 3-pointer as Cleveland continued to chip away.
Harris added a jumper for Detroit, but Mitchell missed from deep, and Holland II missed an open 3-pointer on the other end.
Cleveland pushed in transition, but Duren blocked a dunk attempt by Bryant, helping swing momentum back to Detroit.
Holland II split a pair of free throws, and Duren quickly found Robinson for an open three-pointer as Detroit extended its lead.
Schröder then turned the ball over, and Robinson followed with a short basket off a Cunningham assist while drawing a foul.
Tempers briefly flared when Harden and Robinson exchanged contact after the play, resulting in double technical fouls.
Robinson missed the free throw following the sequence.
Cleveland continued to press.
Mitchell hit a floater, and after a Detroit three-second violation, Harden converted two free throws following multiple offensive rebounds to cut into the deficit.
Harden stayed aggressive, hitting a driving layup to pull Cleveland within five at 93-88 with 6:23 remaining, forcing a Detroit timeout.
Out of the break, Cleveland’s defense tightened.
Strus blocked Duren, and Harden added an 11-foot floater. After Harris missed a short jumper, Harden drew a foul on a 3-point attempt and made all three free throws, tying the game at 93 with 5:28 left.
Cunningham returned and helped stabilize Detroit.
Although he missed his first attempt, the Pistons regained control as Duren finished inside after a feed from Cunningham.
After a Cleveland miss, Cunningham again found Duren, this time for a powerful dunk that pushed Detroit ahead 97-93 with 4:13 remaining, prompting a Cavaliers timeout.
Detroit closed strong down the stretch to hold off the Cavaliers and secure a Game 1 victory Tuesday night.
Out of a late timeout, Mobley missed a corner three-pointer, and Jalen Duren capitalized on the other end with a dunk off a Cade Cunningham assist to extend Detroit’s lead.
James Harden answered with a short floater, but Daniss Jenkins responded with a 17-foot jumper to keep the momentum with the Pistons.
Cunningham then fouled Donovan Mitchell, who split a pair of free throws before Detroit pushed ahead again.
Jenkins grabbed the defensive rebound and found Cunningham for a short jumper as Detroit built a 103-96 advantage.
After Tobias Harris was fouled battling for a rebound, Jenkins missed a midrange attempt, but Duren secured the offensive board, leading to a Harris floater to extend the lead.
Harden kept Cleveland within reach with an 8-foot bank shot, cutting the deficit to 105-98.
Cunningham missed a floater on the next possession, but Cleveland turned the ball over, and Detroit maintained control. Harris missed a 3-pointer, but Jenkins tracked down the offensive rebound and drew a foul, converting both free throws.
Mitchell hit a late 3-pointer to keep Cleveland’s hopes alive, but Jenkins answered at the line after being fouled by Harden, making both free throws.
Cleveland called a timeout with 26 seconds remaining, trailing 109-101 as Detroit remained in control to close out the game.
Jenkins got the defensive rebound off of Mitchell’s missed three-point attempt, as Jenkins got the rebound and the dunk to ice the game with a 111-101.