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The top seed in the East takes a 20 series lead as the Pistons beat the Cavaliers by 10. 10797. Cade Cunningham with 12 of his 25 in the fourth quarter, added 10 assists. And the Pistons have a 20 series lead heading to Cleveland for game three on Saturday. Back here at CBS Sports HQ, NBA analyst John Gonzalez. And John, once again, it's a fourth quarter flurry for the Pistons. Last time in game one, they outscored the Cavaliers 18 to8 in the final five minutes, aided by Cade Cunningham again. It's Cade Cunningham with 12 of his 25 in the fourth. What did you see out of him in that final quarter?
He had a bunch of assists. He finishes with 10 tonight, but he hadn't been very aggressive hunting his shot. And he had James Harden on him a couple times. And I'm thinking, man, like you should be going downhill getting a shot at will going into the fourth quarter. He had taken Kate Cunningham had taken fewer shots than Tobias Harris, which I'm kind of okay with, I guess, but also fewer shots than Duncan Robinson and Dannis Jenkins, which I'm not okay with. And then he explodes in the fourth quarter and he looks like the Cade Cunningham that has been phenomenal all postseason long where finishes with 25 points and 10 assists. super efficient scoring, gets the line eight times as well, makes all eight of his free
throws, which was critical because they had missed some free throws in the game and they had let the Cavs sort of creep back into it, but he was great in the fourth quarter. All the Pistons were really good. And I think conversely, the Cavs, you know, you saw Donovan Mitchell have to do so much tonight, but the Cavs could not hit a shot, especially from deep. They were 0 for 11 from beyond the arc, and they shot just 22% overall in the game from three, which is just not going to get it done. And you and I were talking about it a little bit. You got bad playoff James Harden tonight. He was brutal tonight. And the Pistons, four of five starters in double figures. And we talked about this pregame where
it can't just be Kade Cunningham. You need the supporting cast to show up. Well, they did. Tobias Harris great again tonight. 21 points. That's seven straight games where he's scored 20 or more. And then Duncan Robinson is finally finding his shot from deep. He had five threes tonight. So big team effort from the Pistons and the opposite from the Cavs. Yeah, let's not forget about the guy you shouted out pregame, Dannis Jenkins, the youngster. He went for 14 points, six rebounds off the bench. Once again, a huge uh piece in that supporting cast. I mean, the keys to victory that you said pregame all sort of played out here that the supporting cast for the Detroit Pistons stepped up. Cavaliers didn't have as
many turnovers as they did in game one. They took better care of the basketball. Problem is James Harden not taking care of the basketball late. I mean, there was a situation where it was a two-possession game, 30 seconds to play, huge turnover by James Harden. He now has more turnovers, 11 than field goals made, nine in these two games in this series. This is not what Cavaliers fans were hoping for in a veteran like James Harden. They were hoping that he would be the robin to Donovan Mitchell, who was awesome on this night. He missed some shots in the fourth, but he needs the supporting cast, and James Harden has not been that.
No, he has not. And Cavaliers fans, as you mentioned, not happy with them. One of the Cav one of those Cavaliers fans on with us right now. Uh I feel for you because this is the James Harden that has been criticized over his career for not showing up in big moments in big postseason games. And as you mentioned, you know, they did a better job tonight, the Cavaliers did, of taking care of the ball. They actually had fewer turnovers than the Pistons did. They had 11, the Pistons had 13. Right there, you're thinking, okay, that should set them up for success. except for James Harden was a no-show offensively, just three for 13 from the floor, 0 for four, missed all four of his three-point shots, and was
nowhere to be found on offense uh in the fourth quarter. And then he had four turnovers, and there was that brutal one late in the fourth quarter where you're thinking the Cavs might steal this. They have a chance to climb back into this game, and instead the ball goes the other way. The Pistons take care of business. And if you're Donovan Mitchell, I mean, you can't ask anything more from him. Jared Allen was also really good tonight. Evan Mobley, you know, it's not just James Harden who was a no-show offensively. Evan Mobley, uh, nine points tonight, four of 10 for the floor. Great defensively, no doubt about it. He gave them at least, uh, some effort at that end of the floor. But, you know, this is the James Harden that
they didn't want to show up in the playoffs. They went out and got him. They trade Darius Garland. They get 10 years older by getting James Harden, and they're thinking, "Okay, we're got we've got more experience. James Harden's having a phenomenal regular season." But it's these playoff games where you really need him to show up where sometimes he just doesn't. No, he did not show up and now they are headed home down 02. Look, game three is in Cleveland on Saturday. And the Cavaliers, as we talked about this pregame as well. They've now lost six straight road playoff games dating back to last season. The good news is they're actually pretty good at home, 4-0, a plus 10 points per game differential at home there in Cleveland. So, I guess
there's the hope there that the Cavs can get a game because if you can't get a game, this series is going to be real quick and it's going to be over fast, John. Yeah, that's the hope for the Cavs, right? They've been a completely different team at home in the postseason than on the road, which is weird because during the regular season, and of course, regular season and the postseason is different, but their road home splits are basically identical in the regular season. The playoffs though, different story, right? In the four road losses coming into tonight, they averaged around 101 points. In the four home wins, 120 points. Well, what
happened tonight? Another road game. And they didn't even make it to 100 points tonight. So, that's kind of rough for them. Now, you know, going back home, they find their offense. We'll see if that's true in game three. The one slight pause I'd have here because it was true against the Raptors, but the Pistons are really playing well right now. I mean, they came out, they love to play through their defense. They've won five in a row since starting three and one or being down 3-1 against the Magic. Kate Cunningham is rolling. Tobias Harris is rolling. Duncan Robinson is rolling. Uh who else? Assar Thompson, he's playing great defense. Like still can't shoot. Okay, but he gives you so
much else. He was in foul trouble tonight, but still really impacted the game late. The one guy that I've been critical of is Jaylen Duran, who despite the fact that he went for eight and 10 uh and hit two big free throws late, he still has not had a good postseason for me. Overall, that's the one thing that would give me pause if I'm the Cavs. Yes, you're going home. Yes, you've been playing better, but man, the Pistons have been tough lately. Yeah, I want to take you back to something you said there. Uh the fact that now the Pistons have won five straight since going down 3-1 against Orlando in the first round. And we talked about this pregame as well. What is, no pun intended, clicking for the
Pistons right now? Yeah, I mean it's well, one, you know what you're getting out of Kade Cunningham. I mean, they snapped out of it. They started off really slow in that series. And part of it was that was sort of a bad matchup for them. I know it sounds strange to hear a one seed against an eight seed and the eight seed is a bad matchup for the one, but they were so similar, right? I mean, the Pistons like to play through their defense. They've got a lot of big bodies and they're not good at shooting. Well, the Magic are the same thing, only a lesser version of it. And it took the Pistons a second to get going. And now they're going. And now, you know, in that first series, Duncan Robinson
couldn't throw it in the ocean. And now all of a sudden, he's found his stroke. And again, five threes tonight. That helps. Tobias Harris has really stepped up. I mean, even tonight, a Cavs team that you think is infinitely better on offense. What happened? The Pistons shot 50% from deep. Uh-oh. If you're the Cavs, the Pistons were an average three-point shooting team during the regular season, just 17th in the NBA in three-point shooting. If the Pistons all of a sudden are getting guys like Dannis Jenkins and Duncan Robinson to hit threes, that becomes much more difficult for them to beat because normally they like to get everything in the paint. Now all of a sudden they're adding a three-point shot. That's a
that's a lot for the Cavs to overcome. But we'll see whether or not their offense can do that in game three when they go home. I will tell you that in 2016 I was very optimistic. Believe it or not, I was very positive. I was one of the few media members in Cleveland when the Cavs went down 3-1 to the Warriors in the NBA Finals. I said there's still a chance. I don't know that there's a chance now. I know they're down 02. It's only two games. They don't have LeBron James. They have James Harden. I know they have Donovan Mitchell, but they I don't think they have the pieces, John. I think I
think Detroit's too good. Like this I think this going to be this will be over in five. They need, it really comes down to they need three of their four guys every single night. And tonight, need Evan Mobley. Need those guys to step up because if not, the Pistons are just going to take the series and they're going to be on to the Eastern Conference Finals. All right, John Gonzalez here with us on CBS Sports HQ. Giving it to us straight. I appreciate you. So, for the Pistons, how about this? They've won five straight home playoff games. So, this young squad led by Cade Cunningham, JB Bickerstaff, former Cavaliers head coach looking to stick it to the Cavs here in this series. The Pistons chasing their first East Finals appearance since
2008. Man, this has been a long time coming for Detroit. Now, two wins away. Again, game three, the series shifting to Cleveland beginning on Saturday.
