Pistons Capitalize On Sloppy Cavaliers, Take Game 1 To Snap 12-game Playoff Losing Streak To Cleveland

The Detroit Pistons sprinted out of the gates of Game 1 against the Cleveland Cavaliers Tuesday night.

From there, they held on against a Cleveland team that found its rhythm on offense, but ultimately made too many mistakes in a 111-101 Pistons win.

With the win, Detroit secured its fourth-straight postseason victory to take a 1-0 lead in the second-round playoff series. The Pistons also snapped a 12-game postseason losing streak to the rival Cavaliers. Those losses date back to 2007, and all arrived courtesy of LeBron James-led teams.

But there was no LeBron Tuesday night. And the the Pistons picked up where they left off from a dominant Game 7 win over the Orlando Magic on Sunday.

Pistons cool off from hot start

Detroit flustered Cleveland’s high-octane offense and converted a 6-0 edge in takeaways to a 37-21 lead through one quarter.

That lead didn’t convert to a blowout. Detroit’s offense cooled off, and Cleveland chipped away at its deficit to keep things close down the stretch. The Cavaliers rode an 11-0 run sparked by nine points from James Harden to tie the game at 93-93 after trailing by 18.

But Cade Cunningham returned from the Detroit bench to ignite a 6-0 Pistons run in response. And too many mistakes ultimately doomed the Cavaliers.

James Harden’s turnover struggles continue

Cleveland finished with 19 turnovers. That resulted in part in a 84-80 disadvantage in field-goal attempts and a 35-16 deficit in free-throw attempts. The Pistons ultimately hit enough of those shots to secure the win despite the Cavaliers outshooting them from the field (45% to 44%) and from the line (94% to 77%).

While Harden helped spark the fourth-quarter rally to keep Clevleand in the game, his mistakes are what stand out from his stat line. Harden turned the ball over seven times, largely negating his 22 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists.

For the game, Harden tallied more turnovers than made field goals (6 of 15 from the field). It’s the third time he’s done that this postseason and the 29th time he’s done it in his playoff career.

In the end, Harden accounted for 36.8% of Cleveland’s 19 turnovers. And the Pistons converted those turnovers into 31 points.

Donovan Mitchell led the Cavaliers with 23 points while shooting 4 of 10 from 3. He also contributed to Cleveland’s turnover woes with three giveaways of his own.

Cunningham paces Pistons, sparks critical late stretch

Cunningham, meanwhile, led a balanced Detroit effort with 23 points, 7 assists, 3 rebounds and 2 steals. He assisted on three straight Jalen Duren dunks to turn the 93-93 tie into a 99-93 Pistons lead in the fourth and stem the tide of the Cleveland run.

Duren, meanwhile, finished with 11 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks while anchoring Detroit’s 45-41 rebounding advantage.

Tobias Harris added 20 points, 8 rebounds and 2 steals for his sixth straight 20-plus point effort of the playoffs. And Daniss Jenkins led the steal brigade with four takeaways as one of four Pistons players to record double-digit steals.

It added up to a gritty win for the Pistons that was led by their defense, just the way they like it in Detroit. Cleveland will look to recover and try to tie the series in Game 2 Thursday night (7 p.m. ET, Prime).