Home BASKETBALL NBA NBA Recap: Cleveland Cavs Strike Back Against Detroit Pistons

NBA Recap: Cleveland Cavs Strike Back Against Detroit Pistons

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Cleveland Cavs Vs Detroit Pistons
Mitchell’s 35 points fuel Cavs’ Game 3 win over Pistons, avoid 3-0 hole  
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Cleveland held off Cade Cunningham’s triple-double to beat Detroit and avoid a 3-0 deficit, while the Lakers out for a must-win Game 3 against OKC.


Donovan Mitchell scored 35 points as Cleveland beat Detroit 116-109 in Game 3 to avoid falling 3-0 down in the Eastern Conference semi-finals...



Donovan Mitchell poured in 35 points and James Harden added a strong finish as the Cleveland Cavaliers edged the Detroit Pistons 116-109 in Game 3 of the NBA Eastern Conference semi-finals on Saturday.


After losing the first two games in Detroit, the Cavs kept their perfect home playoff record intact. That streak includes the seven-game first-round series against Toronto, where every game was won by the home team.


More importantly, Cleveland avoided going down 3-0 - a deficit that no NBA team has ever overcome to win a playoff series.


Mitchell finished with 10 rebounds and four assists to go with his 35 points. Harden, a three-time scoring champion who faced criticism for quiet shooting nights in Games 1 and 2, scored 9 of his 19 points in a tight fourth quarter.


He scored seven straight points late in the fourth, capped by a clutch three-pointer that extended Cleveland’s lead to four with 25.9 seconds remaining.


“Whatever this team needs me to do, I'm going to go out there and do it,” the bearded 36-year-old said. “Fourth quarter, my number was called and I go to work.”


Cleveland held off a 27-point triple-double from Detroit’s Cade Cunningham, who also pulled down 10 rebounds and dished 10 assists.


Down by as much as seven in the opening quarter, the Cavaliers took control in the second. Mitchell sparked the Rocket Arena crowd by wrong-footing Duncan Robinson for a step-back three, then found Jarrett Allen for a dunk.


Cleveland went into halftime up 64-48 and stretched the margin to 17 early in the third. Detroit answered with a 12-0 run to take a brief lead, but the Cavs hit back with a 9-0 spurt of their own.


The game stayed tight through the fourth, with Cleveland leading 83-81 going into the final period. The top-seeded Pistons briefly went ahead with under four minutes left, but Cleveland answered once again to close it out.


“They made a run (when we were) up 17. We've seen it before,” Harden said. “Stay composed and win the game, and that's what we did.”


LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers face a 2-0 deficit as they host defending champions Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 3 of their Western Conference series later on Saturday.


Still missing injured top scorer Luka Doncic, the Lakers dropped both games in Oklahoma City by 18 points each, with the Thunder’s depth making the difference.


Oklahoma City finished the regular season with the West’s best record and has had the Lakers’ number all year, sweeping all four regular-season meetings as well.

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