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Spencer German
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Updated at Mar 4, 2026, 04:17
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The Cleveland Cavaliers avenged their gut-wrenching overtime loss to the Detroit Pistons on Friday with a 113-109 win at home over the Eastern Conference's top team four days later

On Friday night in Detroit, the Cleveland Cavaliers watched a 9-point lead with 2:44 to play evaporate into thin air as the Pistons forced overtime and eventually won the game. It was easily one of the more disappointing losses of the season for the wine and gold, who were looking to gain some ground on the East's top team. 

Then again, the Cavs were missing their two best scorers in James Harden and Donovan Mitchell. Four days later, the former was at least back in the lineup for a rematch in Cleveland. 

This time, the Cavaliers were sure to finish what they couldn't on Friday, taking down Detroit 113-109 in a game where the Pistons led for all of 1:48 of game time.

It's the last time the two Midwest foes will meet in the regular season. Here's what stood out. 

Tyson Sets the Tone

Much like Friday night's matchup between these two Eastern Conference foes, it was Jaylon Tyson who set the tone for Cleveland with his contagious, energetic play.

Tyson scored the Cavs first bucket of the game on a fast-break layup about one minute into the game. A couple minutes later, he blocked Pistons star Cade Cunningham, then finished dropped a floating layup in transition on the other end. He finished the opening stanza with six points. 

After Cleveland as a team went just one-of-10 from three in the first quarter, Tyson promptly knocked down three a little over a minute into the second frame. He added a second one later and another blocked shot, while adding a couple of assists as well. Tyson continues to be the beating heart of this Cavaliers squad. 

He finished the game with 5 total threes, including a big one with about four minutes to go, and even knocked down the free throw to make it a two-score game in the closing seconds. It was an all-around brilliant night for the 23-year-old. 

Can't Find Cunningham

Cunningham really struggled against Cleveland in this one. The 24-year-old shot a brutal 25% from the floor, scoring only 10 points, while turning the ball over 5 times and finishing -12 for the game. It's not the first time he's had a rough outing against the Cavs this season, either.

Back in October, when they met for the first time, Cunningham shot just 21% from the floor, including one-of-seven from three in a 116-95 loss where he scored just 12 points. 

In an early January meeting, he shot just 31% overall, but managed to score 27 points, thanks largely to a perfect 11-of-11 night at the charity stripe. 

This past Friday's performance was easily his best of the campaign, where he shot 52% from the floor and scored 27. Tuesday, however, was a regression back to the struggle bus. 

Tyson deserves a lot of the credit for his poor performance, given how often he was guarding him. Keon Ellis, too. 

Bryant Off The Bench

Similar to Tyson, Bryant has had a big impact on helping set the tone for Cleveland in both of these recent matchups with Detroit. Due to Jarrett Allen suffering a knee injury and exiting in the third quarter, Bryant wound up playing a little over 16 minutes and made the most of them.

For the game he was plus-12, scoring 9 points, grabbing 5 boards, and adding a steal and a block to boot. His best moment came with 3:30 remaining in the third quarter, when he knocked down an and-one three and drilled the free throw. 

Schroder the Shooter

Denis Schroder always plays with an edge, but it was obvious that he turned things up a notch in this one. Maybe it's because he used to play for Detroit. Or maybe it's because the Cavs were clearly trying to make a statement, but Schroder was another one of the leaders in effort on Tuesday night. 

He was diving for every 50-50 balls, seemingly making every right pass, and doing a little bit of everything. He also continually found ways to get downhill and attack the basket, while working in some threes where he could, going two-for-three from deep. 

Schroder finished with 15 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists. In a playoff-esque game, he was every bit the contributor that Cleveland hopes he'll be in the months ahead. 

Playoff Atmosphere

In lieu of the anonymous comments made by a mystery Cavaliers player when these two teams met in Detroit on Friday, the crowd inside Rocket Arena felt every bit like a playoff game environment. 

Fans booed the entire Piston's starting lineup and former Cavs head coach JB Bickerstaff when they were announced. They were hanging on and reacting to every foul, every big shot, every missed shot by the Pistons. 

This is the last time these two teams play in the regular season, but they may very well be destined for a playoff collision course, and boy is it going to be electric if they do. 

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