James Harden drained three crucial shots in the final two minutes and Donovan Mitchell poured in 35 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers edged the Detroit Pistons 116-109 on Saturday night in Cleveland, trimming Detroit’s lead to 2-1 in the Eastern Conference semifinal series.
Harden, coming off two turnover-filled outings, finished with 19 points. Jarrett Allen added 18 as Cleveland remained perfect at home this postseason, improving to 5-0 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Game 4 is scheduled for Monday night in Cleveland.
Mitchell reached 2,000 career postseason points in his 73rd playoff appearance, tying for the third-fastest pace among active players and ranking ninth in NBA history.
Detroit was led by Cade Cunningham, who logged his second career playoff triple-double with 27 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, but he also committed eight turnovers. Tobias Harris scored 21 for the Pistons.
The game was knotted at 104 after Duncan Robinson’s three-pointer with 3:14 remaining. Max Strus then intercepted Cunningham’s midcourt inbounds pass and converted a fast-break layup with 2:28 on the clock to put Cleveland ahead for good.
Harden stretched the margin to 108-104 with a 16-foot step-back jumper. Following a driving dunk by Cunningham, Harden answered with a seven-foot floater. Cunningham responded with a three-pointer, but Harden delivered the decisive blow—a step-back three over Harris with 25 seconds left that pushed the lead to 113-109.
After a Detroit timeout, Robinson missed from long range, and Mitchell sealed the result by hitting three free throws in the closing seconds.
Source: ESPN
