Cade Cunningham scored 23 points and had seven assists and Tobias Harris added 20 points and eight rebounds Tuesday night to lead the Detroit Pistons to a 111-101 win over the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Duncan Robinson had 19 points and Daniss Jenkins chipped in 12 for the Pistons, who ended a 12-game playoff skid against the Cavaliers. It marked Detroit’s first Game 1 playoff victory since beating Orlando in the Eastern Conference semifinals in May 2008.
Donovan Mitchell scored 23 points and James Harden added 22, including 13 in the final quarter, to lead the Cavaliers.
Game 2 is Thursday night before the series shifts to Cleveland.
The Pistons led by 11 points during the fourth quarter before the Cavaliers answered with an 11-0 run to tie the game at 93 with 5:28 remaining. Harden sparked the surge by scoring nine points during the run. Detroit regained control by turning up the defensive pressure, leading to three straight dunks by Jalen Duren during an 18-8 closing run that sealed the victory.
Duren posted 11 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.
Cleveland scored the game’s first five points before Detroit quickly took control in the opening quarter. After tying the game 5-5, the Pistons ramped up the defensive pressure and repeatedly attacked the paint, overwhelming the Cavaliers on both ends of the floor.
Detroit outscored Cleveland 32-16 the rest of the quarter and turned six turnovers into 12 points while setting the tone with its physical play.
Cleveland chipped away at Detroit’s lead throughout the second quarter and twice pulled within nine points, the last at 53-44, before the Pistons took a 59-46 lead into the break. Detroit committed six turnovers after having none in the opening period, but nine different Pistons scored in the first half.
Detroit pushed its lead to as large as 65-48 in the third quarter on Robinson’s 3-pointer before Cleveland mounted a late charge. The Cavaliers used a 10-2 run to trim the deficit to 77-74, fueled in part by 14 bench points in the period (10 from Max Strus alone).
But the Pistons answered with Ron Holland’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer to take an 83-76 lead into the fourth.
