Jamal Collier
Multiple Authors
CLEVELAND — The Pistons avoided elimination again, beating the Cavaliers 115-94 on Friday night to pick up their fourth consecutive win this postseason when faced with a chance to go home and force a decisive Game 7 on Sunday night in Detroit.
“They just don’t quit,” Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “The resolve that they have, the belief that they have in one another. They just have the ability to bounce back mentally where they don’t hang on to things.”
The Pistons’ four wins in elimination games are the most in the playoffs since the Boston Celtics did so in 2023. Detroit avoided elimination Friday with a dominant defense and contributions from up and down the roster. The Pistons held the Cavaliers to 29% shooting in the second half and 39% overall.
“We did what needed to be done,” Bickerstaff said. “When we’re at our best, it’s the defense that’s going to carry us. It’s the physicality. I was pleased that we were allowed to play our style of basketball tonight where we can be legally physical, legally handsy, and just make it difficult on people.”
Cade Cunningham led the way with 21 points and five 3-pointers, but he had plenty of help. Jalen Duren turned in his best game of the series with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Daniss Jenkins scored 15, and Paul Reed contributed 17 points off the bench. Duncan Robinson, who missed Game 5 with a lower back injury, knocked down four 3-pointers for 14 points off the bench.
And Ausar Thompson contributed all over the floor with 10 points, nine rebounds, four assists, four steals and a block.
“We needed every bit of it,” Cunningham said. “It’s been a collective effort. Great team win.”
Although the Pistons trailed the series 3-2 entering Friday and had dropped three straight contests, they took solace in the fact they had rallied from a deficit a series prior. The Pistons were down 3-1 to the Magic in the first round before rattling off three consecutive victories, including a dominant second half to win a road game in Orlando in Game 6 before a blowout victory in Game 7.
It’s why, entering this game, Cunningham boiled Game 6 down to one simple task: win a road game and force the series back to Detroit.
“I just think you got to look at the backgrounds of this group,” Jenkins said. “I’m not supposed to be in this position according to everybody in the league. I just think we’re special. We just want to defy all the odds. We not taking [anything] from [anybody]. We know it’s us against the world.”
This will be the second Game 7 of the playoffs for both teams. The Cavaliers also needed seven games to defeat the Toronto Raptors in the first round.
Cleveland let an opportunity to advance to the conference finals for the first time since 2018 slip away with its first home loss of the postseason (6-1). James Harden scored 23 points but went 6-for-13 with eight turnovers, and Donovan Mitchell struggled shooting all night, going 6-for-20 for 18 points.
“We never really kicked it to that second level,” Harden said. “And we needed to get to that third and fourth level. It was never just a consistent flow at either end of the ball, which is frustrating, but can’t do nothing about it. We got to start focusing our mind for one game on the road.”
