Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – The Detroit Pistons thwarted Cleveland’s comeback bid to beat the Cavaliers 107-97 on Thursday, taking a 2-0 lead in their NBA playoff series. Cade Cunningham scored 25 points and handed out 10 assists, while Tobias Harris added 21 points for the Pistons, who set the defensive tone early but had to rally late after the Cavs battled back to take a two-point lead early in the fourth quarter.
“We just stayed poised,” Cunningham told broadcaster Prime. “Stuck to our principles, stuck to our system and just turned up the energy a little bit.” Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell scored a game-high 31 points, with Jarrett Allen chipping in 22. However, the Cavaliers have a mountain to climb as they head home for game three in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semi-final series on Saturday.
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Cunningham, who scored 12 points in the final period, emphasized that the Pistons will have to “turn up our energy even more” in Cleveland. “They’re a tough team to beat at home, so we’re going to have to come in with a high level of focus and competitive spirit and we’ll get the job done,” he said.
The Pistons, who locked up the top seed in the East with the third-best record in the league, had to fight back from a 3-1 deficit to beat the Orlando Magic in the first round. This series, they were determined to hold on to home-court advantage, and game two featured another lock-down defensive display from Detroit, allowing them to take a 54-43 halftime lead.
The Cavaliers responded in the third quarter as Mitchell scored 11 points and Cleveland cut out the turnovers, outscoring the Pistons 32-25. James Harden’s pull-up basket with 17.5 seconds left in the third cut the deficit to one before Daniss Jenkins drilled a three-pointer to send the Pistons into the final period with a 79-75 lead.
Evan Mobley’s dunk minutes into the fourth put the Cavs up 81-79, marking their first lead since the opening minute. However, they couldn’t hang on. A Duncan Robinson three-pointer put Detroit back in front, and they wouldn’t trail again, with Cunningham draining a three-pointer to push the lead to nine with just over two minutes left.
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