The Detroit Pistons took down the Cleveland Cavaliers on the road 115-94 Friday night, forcing the series to a Game 7.
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The first two quarters were by far the most competitive periods of the game. James Harden got going early in the first, but both squads went back and forth with their own scoring runs. After 12 competitive minutes, Detroit led by two.
The second-quarter was a similar affair as the battle slowly became more physical. The Pistons led by three at halftime and the next two quarters were completely dominated by Detroit.
They held the advantage in nearly every metric, including bench points, fastbreak points, points off turnovers, rebounds, assists and more.
Detroit had multiple players put up double-digit points off the bench as Cleveland’s depth struggled to keep up. Even Cleveland’s stars in Harden, Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley could not find a rhythm against the Pistons’ strong defense.
While Cade Cunningham didn’t have his best offensive night either, the Pistons didn’t need him to. They played consistent team basketball on both ends, outscoring the Cavs 61-43 in the second half.
Cunningham finished with 21 points and eight assists on 5-of-10 shooting while Jalen Duren had a solid bounce-back game with 15 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks.
For Cleveland, Harden finished with 23 points and seven assists on 6-of-13 shooting while Mitchell put up 18 points on just 6-of-20 shooting.
The series will now head back to Detroit for Game 7.
James Parker is a sports writer for Ball Exclusives, follow him on X @TheJames_Parker
