Cleveland had a 3-2 series lead coming into Game 6. It is gone.
Detroit Pistons beat the Cavaliers 115-94 in Cleveland on Thursday night, tying the Eastern Conference Semifinals at 3-3 and setting up a winner-takes-all Game 7 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Sunday 17 May.
Cade Cunningham led the Pistons with 21 points, going 5-of-10 from behind the arc. Jalen Duren added 15 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 blocks. With Cleveland managing 20 turnovers on the night, turnovers the Pistons converted into 28 points, the Cavaliers never found their rhythm after a solid first half.
Detroit led 54-41 at half-time and pushed the lead further in the third and fourth quarters. The Cavaliers had no answer. James Harden finished with 23 points for Cleveland, with Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley each adding 18. Those are productive individual lines. Collectively, it was not enough against a Detroit team that dominated in every phase that mattered.
The 21-point winning margin on the road, with the series on the line, was one of the bigger performances of this postseason. Per reports citing foxsports.com, the margin tied a 66-year-old NBA playoff record for the largest Game 6 road win by a team trailing 3-2 in a series.
Game 7 goes to Detroit. The Pistons have homecourt for the deciding game. Tip-off time for Sunday is to be confirmed, with the game broadcast on Prime Video.
The Cavaliers, having led this series 3-2 just 48 hours ago, now face a Game 7 on the road. The last time they controlled this series, they needed to. Now they need to do it again.
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