As of May 12, 2026, the Detroit Pistons are currently tied, two games to two against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Detroit took games one and two in Detroit, Cleveland came back to win games three and four. Today (May 13), both teams will face off in Detroit, fighting to go one game away from Eastern conference finals contention.
Much pressure on the Pistons to win this game, coming off their first playoff series win since 2008, they look to win their first semi final series since 2008 as well. After many playoff experiences, and one finals appearance for James Harden since his NBA arrival in the 2009-10 season, and none for Donovan Mitchell, since coming in the 2017-18 season, they look to continue to advance.
May 5, 2026 was the first matchup between the two teams, where Detroit won. Despite a poor shooting performance from Cade Cunningham, Duncan Robinson (19 pts) and Tobias Harris (20 pts) held it down to help win. The Cavaliers still had a good defensive performance, starting Dean Wade over Max Strus in an attempt to slow Cunningham down, it worked, Cunningham shot 6-19, shooting just over 30 percent.
Game two went down two days later, Detroit took another win. Mitchell went for 31 points, leading the Cavaliers, but it wasn’t enough with Cleveland’s other star guard shooting 3-13 and only having ten points. At the same time, Cunningham came back shooting an efficient 7-14, having 25 points and ten assists, followed by Harris’s 25 pts and Robsinson’s 17.
Just two days later on May 11, 2026, game three played in Cleveland, the Cavaliers won. The three from last game who kept Detroit in it, Harris (21), Robinson (15), and Cade Cunningham (27 pt triple double), but Cade’s poor shooting, 10/27 kept the Pistons a little slow. At the same time, Cleveland had five players in double digits, highlighting Mitchell with 35, Harden with 19 and Allen with 18.
Game four, played in Cleveland, the Cavaliers dominated, in the third quarter, they opened up the game with a 24-0 point run. In the fourth quarter, the Pistons began to come back in, yet still lost by nine points. The Cavaliers shut down Duncan Robinson, he only took two shots, Cunningham with only 19 points, Harris had 16, only shooting 6-17, just over 33 percent shooting. Detroit’s star player was Caris LeVert, who had a playoff high of 24 points. Donovan Mitchell starred for Cleveland with a game high 43 points, Harden had 24, and Evan Mobley had 17 points and five blocks and the highest plus/minus on the team at +30.
May 13, at 8 p.m. eastern, the Detroit Pistons and Cleveland Cavaliers face off in game five. Game five could decide the momentum of the series, with the young Detroit Pistons trying to respond after back-to-back Cleveland wins led by Donovan Mitchell’s dominant scoring performances. Detroit will need a stronger and more efficient game from Cade Cunningham, along with more production from Tobias Harris and Duncan Robinson, to move one win away from their first Eastern Conference Finals appearance since 2008. Meanwhile, the Cavaliers look to complete the comeback behind Mitchell, James Harden, and a defense that controlled game four.
