The Cleveland Cavaliers produced a stirring comeback to defeat the Detroit Pistons 117-113 in overtime on Wednesday, moving within one victory of reaching the Eastern Conference finals. James Harden scored 30 points, while Donovan Mitchell added 21, including seven in the extra period, as the Cavaliers overturned a nine-point deficit in the final four minutes of regulation.
Max Strus contributed 20 points and eight rebounds, with Evan Mobley recording 19 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Jarrett Allen added 16 points and 10 rebounds for Cleveland, who had lost all five of their previous road playoff games this spring. The victory gave the Cavaliers a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series.
Detroit, the top seed in the East, were led by Cade Cunningham's 39 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, with Daniss Jenkins adding 19. The Pistons now face elimination for the fourth time this postseason. "It's a tough loss," Cunningham said. "We wanted to protect our own court. We failed to do that."
Cleveland trailed 100-91 with under four minutes left in the fourth quarter after missing their first nine shots of the period. They rallied to tie the game at 103-103 on Mobley's free throws with 45.2 seconds remaining, before taking control in overtime by scoring nine of the first 11 points. Harden and Mobley combined to make four of six foul shots in the final seconds to seal the win.
Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff acknowledged the need for adjustments, saying: "They started doubling and getting the ball out of Cade's hands. We'll find ways to fix it." Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson praised his team's resilience, adding: "That was a battle-tested win against a heck of a team, on the road."
Game 6 is scheduled for Friday night in Cleveland, where a Cavaliers victory would send them into the conference finals against the New York Knicks. Should Detroit win, the series would return to their home court for a decisive Game 7 on Sunday.
