Detroit's first playoff win over Cleveland since 2007 came in the most Pistons way imaginable: Cade Cunningham bending the game to his will down the stretch, a role player draining what role players are paid to drain, and a defence that refused to stop turning the Cavaliers over. The 111-101 final on Tuesday night gives Detroit a 1-0 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals and snaps a 12-game playoff losing streak against Cleveland — tied for the longest head-to-head playoff drought in NBA history.
Cunningham finished with 23 points, seven assists and shot nine-of-19 from the floor. He has now scored 20 or more in all 14 playoff games of his career — the fourth-longest streak to start an NBA postseason career, trailing only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Asked after the game how the Pistons closed Cleveland out after the visitors had clawed back to 93-93, Cunningham credited the Magic series.
"We've been through a lot, seen a lot of scenarios in the game, so just reading how they were guarding us and trying to get the best shot possible. That's all that was. We did a good job," he said. "Understanding what the moment needs and what's called for, and then having the poise and confidence to go out and execute it. Playing in three basically elimination games — you understand how important starts are, the urgency, you understand how to close and how to finish and how to get to your spots. You grow belief that you can. That series did a lot of that for us."
The co-stars showed up. Duncan Robinson — invisible against Orlando — went 5-of-8 from three on the way to 19 points. Tobias Harris extended a personal hot streak to six straight 20-point playoff games. Ausar Thompson chipped in 11. Most consequentially, Jaylen Duren turned the fourth quarter with one possession that flipped the floor: a block at one end, a Cunningham dish and dunk at the other, then another stop, another dump-off and another dunk. Eleven points, 12 rebounds, four assists from Duren, and two-way authority in winning time.
"What they got was finally Cade Cunningham some help," ESPN's Chiney Ogwumike said on the postgame desk. "I was so impressed with Jaylen Duren. If you look at the box score, it's only 11 points — but he had 12 rebounds, four assists, and most importantly during that stretch of like four minutes left, he got a block on one end, then Cade dished it to him and he dunked, then they got another stop and he got another dump-off and he dunked again. He played with force, he played with authority. His numbers this postseason may not jump off the screen, but when it came to when it mattered most, his defence showed up."
For Cleveland, the loss looked depressingly familiar. The Cavaliers committed 19 turnovers, which Detroit converted into 31 points. James Harden bled the team dry with seven of those giveaways, even as he scored 22. Donovan Mitchell added 23 in a quieter night than usual. Jared Allen never settled — picking up three first-quarter fouls and finishing with one bucket — which left Evan Mobley to absorb the brunt of the front-court matchup against Duren.
"You look within first and you look at my turnovers," Harden said afterwards. "A lot of them were just on me and nothing they did. If I had to put my print on one thing on the game, that's the game right there."
CBS Sports analyst John Gonzalez framed the Pistons' offensive blossoming as a matchup story. "It's amazing how much better that offence looks when they don't have a team like the Magic — who play great defence and are all giant — clogging the paint. The Cavs don't have that. So the Pistons offence had a lot easier looks tonight." Detroit's defence finished the regular season ranked second in the NBA. On Tuesday, they made it look like the gap to first might be smaller than the standings suggested.
Game 2 is Thursday in Detroit. The Cavaliers go home down 1-0 with a turnover problem that has to be solved by the time the series shifts to Cleveland.
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*Originally published on [NBA News Global](https://nbanews.global/article/pistons-cavs-game-1-cunningham-23-duncan-robinson-five-threes-may-2026). Visit for full coverage.*
