Cade Cunningham takes over with 12 in fourth quarter, lifts Detroit to 2-0 series lead
Donovan Mitchell had 31 on the night, but down the stretch, the Pistons were too much.
For three quarters, the Cavaliers' game plan of "make anyone but Cade Cunningham beat us" was modestly effective ā he only had eight shots and 13 points, but he also had 10 assists. At least the Cavs had slowed the leading scorer of these playoffs. But in the fourth quarter, there was no stopping Cunningham.
CADE CUNNINGHAM IS A BAD MAN pic. twitter. com/ML7aJPrFnO ā NBA on Prime (@NBAonPrime) May 8, 2026 Cunningham put up a dozen in the fourth and outdueled Donovan Mitchell, who finished the game with 31 points but didn't get enough help.
Behind Cunningham and rock-solid defense, Detroit picked up the 107-97 win to go up 2-0 in this Eastern Conference semifinal. The series now moves to Cleveland on Sunday for Game 3, which you can watch on NBC and Peacock at 3 ET. The Cavaliers had some things they could take away from this loss that worked, plus they have been much better at home these playoffs (but 0-5 on the road).
Detroit has now won five playoff games in a row after falling behind Orlando 3-1 in the first round. Two things were clear early in Game 2. One, Detroit was happy to have Cunningham working off-ball, and as Cleveland's Dean Wade worked to deny the Pistons' star the chance to initiate the offense.