Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell is one win away from exorcising the ghost of playoffs past, but he knows that victory will not come easy.
The Cavaliers lead their Eastern Conference semifinal series over the top-seeded Detroit Pistons 3-2.
Seven-time All-Star Mitchell, who has qualified for the playoffs in all nine NBA seasons with the Utah Jazz (2017-22) and Cleveland, is seeking his first trip to conference finals. It’s a significant blemish on his career resume.
Fourth-seeded Cleveland pulled off a stunning comeback, scoring the final nine points in regulation to force overtime in what became a 117-113 victory. It marked the first win by a road team in the series.
Evan Mobley scored the Cavaliers’ last seven points in the fourth quarter and Mitchell had seven points without missing a shot in OT. Cleveland hit the Pistons with a 13-0 run bridging the two periods, holding them scoreless for exactly five minutes.
James Harden was dynamic for the Cavaliers with 30 points, eight rebounds and six assists in 43 minutes, Mobley had a near triple-double with 19 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, and Mitchell scored 21 points.
All-Star guard Cade Cunningham stuffed the stat sheet with 39 points, nine assists and seven rebounds for Detroit, but he was limited to one basket in the final 11 1/2 minutes while being blanketed by Cleveland’s Max Strus.
The Pistons did receive secondary scoring from Daniss Jenkins, who had a career playoff-high 19 points, but All-Star center Jalen Duren had just nine points and five rebounds before being benched for the entire fourth quarter and OT.
The Pistons will be in a win-or-go home scenario for the fourth time this spring, having rallied from a 3-1 deficit in the first round in eliminating the eighth-seeded Orlando Magic. They did split two games in Cleveland in the regular season.
Detroit also has a chip on its collective shoulder after watching Harden receive 14 free-throw attempts in Game 5, while it attempted 20 as a team. It also believed Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen fouled Ausar Thompson on a loose ball as time expired in the fourth.
Cleveland is 6-0 in the playoffs at home this season and 70-30 all-time in its downtown arena, including 11-1 all-time against the Pistons. The Cavaliers have not advanced to the East finals without LeBron James on their roster in 34 years. (Field Level Media / Reuters)