For three quarters, the Cavaliers’ game plan of “make anyone but Cade Cunningham beat us” was modestly effective — he only had eight shots and 13 points, but he also had 10 assists. At least the Cavs had slowed the leading scorer of these playoffs.
But in the fourth quarter, there was no stopping Cunningham.
Cunningham put up a dozen in the fourth and outdueled Donovan Mitchell, who finished the game with 31 points but didn’t get enough help.
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Behind Cunningham and rock-solid defense, Detroit picked up the 107-97 win to go up 2-0 in this Eastern Conference semifinal.
The series now moves to Cleveland on Sunday for Game 3, which you can watch on NBC and Peacock at 3 ET. The Cavaliers had some things they could take away from this loss that worked, plus they have been much better at home these playoffs (but 0-5 on the road).
Detroit has now won five playoff games in a row after falling behind Orlando 3-1 in the first round.
Two things were clear early in Game 2. One, Detroit was happy to have Cunningham working off-ball, and as Cleveland’s Dean Wade worked to deny the Pistons’ star the chance to initiate the offense. At times, Detroit used Wade’s overplay against him, getting Cunningham the ball rolling toward the rim, where he could shoot or find a teammate (he had more assists than points in the first quarter).
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The other key was the Pistons upping their defensive pressure, which threw the Cavaliers off. The result was Cleveland shooting below 40% (39.5%) and 3-of-14 (21.4%) from 3-point range in the first half, with nine turnovers. Harden, in particular, struggled, shooting 2-of-10 in the first 24 minutes.
James Harden is now 9-of-28 in this series and 1-of-11 from 3-point range with 11 turnovers. He simply has to be better in Cleveland if the Cavaliers are going to make this a series.
While Cunningham rightfully gets the headlines, the play of Ausar Thompson and Tobias Harris was critical for Detroit in this game. Harris was again phenomenal with 21 points and seven boards, hitting some clutch shots. Thompson got eight first-quarter points coming out of the dunker’s spot as the defense collapsed on Cunningham, but he also was strong on the boards (seven rebounds), served to bring the ball up and initiate the offense at points, and remains the best perimeter defender in this series (and the league).
Cleveland played with much more force in the second half ‚ they matched Detroit’s physicality on defense, and they were more intentional and targeted on offense (plus they stopped turning the ball over). Mitchell led the way — they used him both as the screener and ball handler — and that opened things up for others.
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It was a four-point game entering the fourth quarter, and then Detroit started the fourth on a 6-0 run to take the lead.
That’s when Cunningham started to take over, and the Cavaliers ultimately had no answer.
Jarrett Allen had another strong game for Cleveland with 22 points and seven rebounds.
Duncan Robinson was 5-of-9 from 3 for Detroit and finished with 17 points, while Daniss Jenkins scored 14 off the bench and had some key minutes. Jalen Duran was again strong inside with 10 boards to go with his eight points.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
