NBA : the Cavs steal Game 5 in Detroit and leave the Pistons on the edge

A win that changes the feel of the series

Some games arent won cleanly. Some games squeak, stick to your hands, and reek of cold sweat and decisions made in the fog. This Game 5 between Detroit and Cleveland belonged in that category.

The Cavaliers didnt dominate. They didnt cruise. For long stretches, they looked like they were chasing the game, chasing the tempo, chasing Cade Cunningham, chasing a Detroit crowd that already smelled a win. But by the end of the night, it was Cleveland walking off with the prize.

A 117-113 overtime win. Cleveland’s first road victory in the series. And, most important, a 3-2 lead for the Cavs, who now head home with a chance to close it out in two days. For Detroit, its a brutal gut punch. For Cleveland, its a gift.
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Detroit had it in its hands

For a long time, the Pistons played like a team ready to take control of the series back. They came out first, pushed hard in the first half, and built a lead of as many as 15 points. Cade Cunningham was in his own lane, Tobias Harris found his shot in the second quarter, and Cleveland at times looked only a couple of possessions away from cracking.

At the break, Detroit led 60-52. Not decisive, but enough to plant a seed of doubt in the Cavs. The Pistons had the pace, the energy, the transition game. They were turning turnovers into easy points. Exactly the kind of stuff a team needs to make a favourite start twitching.

Then Detroit opened the door. Again.

Cunningham was huge, but far too alone

Cade Cunningham delivered a real alpha performance. 39 points, 9 assists, 7 rebounds. Creation, shot-making, drives, big buckets. After a quieter Game 4, the Pistons guard answered the way franchise players are supposed to answer: by taking the game on his back.

Cade Cunningham 39 PTS, 7 REB, 9 AST, 2 STL, 13/27 FG, 6/10 3FG, 63.9% TS vs Cavs https://t.co/WucpMxH4bd pic.twitter.com/QJyhHCUwUp

— Basketball Performances (@NBAPerformances) May 14, 2026

The problem was that in the money time, Detroit looked like a team that had run out of answers around him. Cunningham could hit a tough shot, steady a possession, stop a fire from spreading, but he couldnt put it all out by himself.

Jalen Duren also missed a night that demanded real interior force. 9 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and the nagging sense of a player with the body to matter, but not the volume to grab the series by the throat. When Paul Reed is preferred in the closing lineup, the message is pretty clear.

Harden dusted off the old costume

For Cleveland, James Harden rolled back the years. 30 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, and a decisive presence once the game turned into a scrap. He wasnt perfect, not even close. The Cavs’ turnovers still gave the Pistons far too much fuel, with 27 points allowed off giveaways, including 23 in transition.

James Harden 30 PTS, 8 REB, 6 AST, 3 BLK, 8/21 FG, 11/14 FT, 55.2% TS vs Pistons https://t.co/cIGEgA3r1F pic.twitter.com/RDUCsYwFn0

— Basketball Performances (@NBAPerformances) May 14, 2026

But Harden held firm. He scored. He soaked up the pressure. And in the final seconds of overtime, he even managed to grab an offensive rebound after missing his own free throw before helping Cleveland get clear.

It wasnt pretty. It wasnt smooth. But it was playoff Harden at his most valuable: calm in the middle of the chaos.

Mitchell was quiet, then lethal

Donovan Mitchell spent much of the night looking like he was playing the game in reverse. 21 points overall, but 7/18 shooting, a rough 1/8 from deep, and far less control than in Game 4. For three and a half quarters, Spida was searching for rhythm more than forcing it.

Then overtime arrived.

And everything flipped. Mitchell poured in 7 points in five minutes, including a massive three to push the Cavs seven up with 2:39 left. The kind of shot that doesnt care how the rest of the night has gone. The kind of shot that only remembers the moment.

Thats what the great ones do. They can be out of step for much of the game and still own the ending.

Mobley and Strus, the lieutenants who kept it together

Without Evan Mobley and Max Strus, Cleveland probably doesnt leave Detroit with a pulse. Mobley was vital in the comeback, finishing with 19 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists. His activity, his effort, his timely outside shot and his free throws to tie the game at 103 with 45.2 seconds left in regulation all mattered.

EVAN MOBLEY MAKES IT A 2-POINT GAME!

UNDER 2 MINUTES TO GO ON ESPN. pic.twitter.com/SmGlsm5Pcu

— NBA (@NBA) May 14, 2026

Strus did exactly what Cleveland needed from him in a game like this: make them pay. Six threes, 20 points, 8 rebounds, and a string of bombs that kept the Cavs within touching distance when Detroit could have broken it open. Some were ugly. Some were tough. All of them mattered.

Max Strus 20 PTS, 8 REB, 1 STL, 1 BLK, 6/8 FG, 6/8 3FG, 2/2 FT, 0 TOS, 112.6% TS vs Pistons https://t.co/j1KmtnWVX4 pic.twitter.com/mBdNGWiOjB

— Basketball Performances (@NBAPerformances) May 14, 2026

In a series this tight, the stars usually decide the verdict. But the supporting cast often decides whether the verdict arrives in time.

The black hole that will haunt the Pistons

The real swing came in one stretch. Detroit led 103-94 a little more than two minutes from the end of the fourth quarter. The game was there. Not won, but there. One clean possession, one stop, one basket, anything to kill the Cavs’ run.

Instead, the Pistons vanished.

Cleveland ripped off a 13-0 burst and Detroit went scoreless for five minutes, from the end of regulation to the middle of overtime. Five minutes without a point in a Game 5. Five minutes that can wreck a season.

And, as always in the playoffs, the regrets live in the details. That messy sequence between Jarrett Allen and Ausar Thompson before the buzzer in regulation, which J.B. Bickerstaff saw as a clear foul, will stick in Detroit’s mind. But the Pistons cant pin this all on that. They had the game. They let it slip away.

Cade promises a response, Cleveland smells blood

After the game, Cade Cunningham refused to hang his head. His message was simple: a series is won with four victories, and Detroit now has to go find one on the road. He said it with confidence, almost like a warning.

Cade Cunningham on dropping Game 5:

“It’s first four wins, though … We’ve had our back against the wall before. At the end of the day, if we can’t win a game on the road, how far we really gon’ get in the playoffs? … Gotta go win a game on the road, that’s what we gon’ do.” pic.twitter.com/wdWyZZtZsv

— Underdog NBA (@UnderdogNBA) May 14, 2026

The Pistons have done it before. In the first round, they survived with their backs to the wall against Orlando. Theyve already won a do-or-die game away from home. But this time the task is bigger. Cleveland still havent lost at home in these playoffs. And the Cavs can feel the momentum swing their way.

James Harden found some juice. Donovan Mitchell finished strong. Mobley and Strus came up big. Even on an imperfect night, Cleveland found a way.

A Game 6 with a season on the line

On Friday night, the Cavs will have the chance to finish it at home and book a place in the Eastern Conference final against the Knicks. For Detroit, its simple: win or go home. No maths. No safety net. No instant second bite.

This Game 5 could go down as the turning point. Detroit had the edge, the crowd, the momentum, an incandescent Cade Cunningham and a nine-point lead with two minutes left. Cleveland had the experience, the nerve, and that cruel habit dangerous teams have of staying alive long enough to punish every wobble.

The Pistons wobbled.

The Cavs struck.

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