Cleveland Cavaliers beat Detroit Pistons 116-109 at home on Saturday, May 9.
The game, quarter by quarter
The Cavaliers had the better start, winning the first 32-30 to lead by 2 after one. The Cavaliers kept the pressure on with a 32-18 second quarter, carrying a 16-point lead into halftime.
The Pistons won the third 33-19 to stay in front, taking a 2-point lead into the fourth. The Cavaliers took the fourth 33-28; the Cavaliers finished the job for a 116-109 regulation win.
What decided it
The Cavaliers got more from their shots, finishing at 66.2% effective field-goal shooting compared with 50% for the Pistons. The Cavaliers made 24.3 free throws per 100 field-goal attempts, compared with 19.8 for the Pistons. That shooting gap supplied the clearest edge.
The Pistons did win one battle, second chances: ORB% of 37.8% against 17.9%. The Cavaliers made up for it elsewhere.
At roughly 98 possessions per team, the Cavaliers produced 119 points per 100 possessions to 111.8 for the Pistons.
Who made the difference
Donovan Mitchell was the game's biggest individual force for CLE: 35 pts, 10 reb, 4 ast on 13-24 shooting. His Game Score of 25 led everyone. His team was +7 with him on the floor.
Duncan Robinson led the Pistons with 15 pts, 3 reb, 4 ast, 5 stl on 5-9 shooting, good for a 18.5 Game Score.
Donovan Mitchell (35 pts, 10 reb, 4 ast) and Cade Cunningham (27 pts, 10 reb, 10 ast) each recorded a double-double.
What it means
The pre-game Win Meter had it close to a coin flip, at about 50% for the Cavaliers.
Across the last 10 meetings in our records, the series is even.
Written automatically by Tip Off Live software from box score data. Ratings and probabilities are our own model estimates.