Cleveland Cavaliers beat Detroit Pistons 117-113 in overtime on the back of Harden’s 30 points in Game 5 of the series.
James Harden scored 30 points and Donovan Mitchell added 21, including seven in overtime, as the Cleveland Cavaliers rallied to beat the Detroit Pistons 117-113 and take a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Max Strus had 20 points and eight rebounds and Evan Mobley added 19 points, eight rebounds and eight assists for the Cavaliers, who snapped a five-game road playoff losing streak on Wednesday.
Harden had eight rebounds and six assists, while Jarrett Allen contributed 16 points and 10 boards.
“You hope it propels us. You hope it galvanises us. You hope we carry it forward,” Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said.
Cade Cunningham finished with 39 points, nine rebounds and seven assists and Daniss Jenkins added 19 points for the Pistons, who will face elimination for the fourth time this postseason.
“It’s a tough loss,” Cunningham said. “Obviously wanted to protect our own court. We failed to do that. Being up 3-2 is an advantage for them.”
“[Donovan] struggled a little bit offensively, but that’s why he has a team and guys that pick him up,” Harden said. “Max [Strus] came through, made some big shots. Dennis [Schroder] came in, played extremely well. So this is a team effort.”
Cleveland took control early in overtime, scoring nine of the first 11 points to build a 112-105 lead.
Cunningham’s jump shot brought Detroit within 113-111 with 25.9 seconds remaining, but the Cavaliers closed it out at the free-throw line. Harden and Mobley combined to hit four of six foul shots in the final seconds.
“They started doubling and getting the ball out of Cade’s hands. We’ll find ways to fix it. We’ll be better,” Pistons coach JB Bickerstaff said.
Cleveland pushed their lead to four early in the fourth quarter, but Detroit responded with a 15-2 run to take a 100-91 advantage with just less than four minutes left.
Cleveland missed their first nine shots of the period before rallying late, eventually pulling even at 103 on Mobley’s two free throws with 45.2 seconds to play. The Cavaliers had a chance to win, but were unable to get a shot off on their final possession before time expired.
“It’s about exploiting whatever they’re doing that’s giving us advantages. I just haven’t done a good enough job of drawing the two and then getting the ball to guys cleanly,” Cunningham said.
The Pistons came out aggressively and grabbed an early 7-2 lead behind Jenkins, who scored all seven of Detroit’s points during the opening burst. Cleveland quickly settled in, and the remainder of the first quarter turned into a back-and-forth battle featuring four ties and six lead changes.
Detroit seized control early in the second quarter with an 18-5 run to build a 47-32 lead. Cleveland answered with an 8-0 spurt to pull within seven, but the Pistons carried a 60-52 halftime advantage after forcing 10 turnovers that led to 20 points.
Cleveland flipped the momentum in the third quarter as Detroit struggled offensively, and the Cavaliers took better care of the ball. The Pistons missed eight of their first 10 shots, allowing Cleveland to erase the halftime deficit and pull even at 68 midway through the quarter.
The Cavaliers had just two turnovers in the quarter, and capitalised on Detroit’s cold stretch by closing with an 11-3 run to take an 84-80 lead into the fourth.
“Wasn’t our best night offensively, but I think that’s what speaks volumes to getting this win, was we found a way, and that’s our first time doing it on the road in the playoffs,” Strus said. “And I think that’s a really big something we can build off of going forward in the playoffs.”
The Pistons played without starting guard Duncan Robinson, who was sidelined with lower back soreness.
Game 6 of the best-of-seven series is on Friday in Cleveland.
A win by the Cavaliers sends Cleveland to the Eastern Conference finals against the Knicks. A Detroit win sets up a Game 7 on the Pistons’ home floor Sunday.
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