The Detroit Pistons sprinted out of the gates of Game 1 against the Cleveland Cavaliers Tuesday night.
From there, they held on against a Cleveland team that found its rhythm on offense, but ultimately made too many mistakes in a 111-101 Pistons win. With the win, Detroit secured its fourth-straight postseason victory to take a 1-0 lead in the second-round playoff series.
The Pistons picked up where they left off from a dominant Game 7 win over the Orlando Magic on Sunday. Detroit flustered Cleveland’s high-octane offense and converted a 6-0 edge in takeaways to a 37-21 lead through one quarter.
There would be no blowout at Little Caesars Arena. Detroit’s offense cooled off, and Cleveland chipped away at its deficit to keep things close down the stretch. The Cavaliers rode an 11-0 run sparked by 9 from James Harden to tie the game at 93-93 after trailing by 18.
But Cade Cunningham returned from the Detroit bench to spark a 6-0 Pistons run in response. And too many mistakes ultimately doomed the Cavaliers.
Cleveland finished with 19 turnovers. That resulted in part to a 84-80 disadvantage in field-goal attempts and a 35-16 deficit in free-throw attempts. The Pistons ultimately hit enough of those shots to secure the win.