Cleveland rallies from 9 points down in the final 3 minutes to force OT, wins in Detroit to take 3-2 lead

This is what playoff experience looks like — and why it matters.

Detroit took a nine-point lead with three minutes to go on a Tobias Harris 3-pointer. From that moment on through the end of overtime, Cleveland stepped up, outscoring Detroit 23-10, shooting 50% to the Pistons 23.5%, Cleveland was 2-of-3 from beyond the arc while Detroit was 0-of-5, and Donovan Mitchell led the way shooting 4-of-5 in that stretch with nine points, while Cade Cunningham was 1-of-4 for two points as Cleveland doubled him and dared anyone else to beat them.

The result was Cleveland’s first road win in these playoffs, a 117-113 victory that sends them home with a 3-2 series lead and a chance to close out the series on Friday night on their home court.

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“You’re going to have to choke the life out of this team,” Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff said of his team. “We’re not going to go down without a fight. We’re not going to go down without kicking, punching, grabbing, clawing. That’s just who we are.”

Pistons fans were livid about a play at the end of regulation. After Ausar Thompson made a brilliant read on Mitchell and stripped the ball away, it looks like Jarrett Allen fouls Thompson going for the loose ball. Crew Chief Tony Brothers, standing right there, sees the play but chooses not to decide the game on a foul away from the basket. There was no call and the game headed to overtime.

“During live play, both players were going for the ball and there was incidental contact with the legs with no player having possession of the ball,” Brothers told a pool reporter of the no-call after the game.

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That call is not why the Pistons lost the game.

Cleveland was the mentally tougher team on the night — they trailed by 15 at one point, by nine late, and just kept making plays. It was Cleveland’s best defensive effort of the series. Detroit made plays, but when Cleveland doubled Cunningham and dared anyone else to beat them, nobody stepped up. It was another rough night for Jalen Duren, who did not play in the entire fourth quarter, as Bickerstaff chose to go with Paul Reed.

Cunningham scored 39 on the night, with nine…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/cleveland-rallies-9-points-down-042342584.html

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Publish date : 2026-05-14 04:23:00

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