Detroit's defense, physicality and Cade Cunningham too much for Cleveland, Pistons win to force Game 7
That was the Pistons team that won 60 games and was the No. 1 seed in the East. Detroit was the more physical team and owned the paint, outscoring Cleveland 48-29.
The Pistons' defense was locked in, holding the Cavaliers to 38. 5% shooting overall, with Donovan Mitchell shooting 6-of-20 and Evan Mobley 6-of-14. That was the deep Detroit team from the regular season, and on Friday, it got 48 points from its bench, led by 17 from Paul Reed, compared to just 19 total points from the Cavaliers' bench.
And that was the All-Star Jalen Duren that has been missing this series: 15 points, 11 rebounds, three blocks and he was a huge presence inside. Jalen Duren showed up in a big way in Game 6 pic. twitter.
com/Z80G9mCOII ā NBA on Prime (@NBAonPrime) May 16, 2026 The result is Detroit forcing a Game 7 with a dominating win, 115-94. That is the second-straight series the Pistons won Game 6 on the road to keep their season alive Also, for the second straight series, the Pistons will host a Game 7, this time on Sunday. While we saw a far more balanced Detroit offense on Friday night, this is still Cade Cunningham's team and he led the way with 21 points, including five 3-pointers, plus eight assists.
What was different was the shooters around him knocking down shots: The Pistons hit 16 3-pointers while shooting 44. 4%. However, for the Pistons, everything started with their defense, as it did during the regular season.