Cade Cunningham delivered 25 points and 10 assists, propelling the Detroit Pistons to a 107-97 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday, giving them a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
As the top seed in the conference, Detroit is now just two wins away from reaching the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2008. Cunningham, the key figure in Detroit’s resurgence, once again outperformed Cleveland’s stars, including Donovan Mitchell (31 points) and James Harden, who continued to be a liability for his team.
The veteran guard finished with a shooting line of 3-for-13 from the field and committed four turnovers, bringing his total to 11 turnovers across the first two games of the series. One of those turnovers proved especially costly. After the Cavaliers had erased a 14-point deficit, they found themselves trailing 103-97 following a Pistons’ run fueled by Cunningham, who scored 12 points in the fourth quarter.
With 40 seconds remaining, Harden attempted an isolation play, but Ausar Thompson, one of the league’s top defenders, stripped him of the ball, effectively ending Cleveland’s hopes of heading home with a tied series.
The Cavaliers will host the next two games on Saturday and Monday, and they must significantly elevate their performance in these playoffs to avoid a third consecutive elimination in this round.
In Thursday’s other game, LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers aimed to even their Western Conference semifinal series against the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder.
Key Mentions: American Sports, Basketball, NBA, Cade Cunningham, James Harden, Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons.