The Detroit Pistons find their backs against the wall once again after a tough overtime defeat to the Cleveland Cavs on Wednesday night
When the Eastern Conference Finals shifted back to the Motor City for game five, the Detroit Pistons had renewed optimism that they could steal momentum away from a Cleveland Cavs unit that had won two straight at home.
But when the postseason kicked off, the Pistons took the court without Duncan Robinson for the first time in the playoffs. Dealing with lower back soreness, Robinson was ruled out shortly before tip-off, so second-year guard Daniss Jenkins filled in for the sharp-shooter as the two guard on Wednesday night.
So, the top seed in the East had their work cut out for them in a game that required extra time to decide. With the score gridlocked at 103 points apiece, the Pistons and Cavs had to settle the Central Division matchup with an overtime frame, but the two-man combination of James Harden and Donovan Mitchell kept Cleveland ahead long enough to pull off a 117-113 victory, which gave the Cavs a 3-2 edge in the second round series.
From an offensive standpoint, Pistons All-Star point guard Cade Cunningham did all he could to keep Detroit in the game until the final second ticked off the clock. Cunningham finished game five with 39 points, seven rebounds and nine assists against the Cavs, but the third-team All-Pro wasn’t able to catch back up to Cleveland once the contest went into overtime.
While filling in for Robinson in the backcourt, Jenkins was the second-leading scorer for the Pistons tonight with 19 points on an 8-for-17 shooting performance. But with Cunningham scoring 39 and Jenkins contributing 17 of his own, Detroit needed another supplementary scorer to step up— which never happened.
In terms of the Cavs’ firepower, Mitchell received a heavy dose of Ausar Thompson in an on-ball format during game five, and the third-year defensive ace was able to limit Spida to just 21 points on the night, which can be considered a moral victory in terms of defending the lethal scorer. But on the other side of the backcourt, Harden posted a 30-point outing with eight rebounds and six assists with both dangerous guards logging over 42 minutes of playing time.
At this point, it may sound like a broken record to harp on Jalen Duren’s playoff performance after a litany of subpar outings for the big man, but JD had another single-digit scoring night in 25 minutes of action with nine points, five rebounds and four assists. Ever since a rocky start to the postseason against the Orlando Magic, Duren has struggled mightily to produce with any degree of consistency in the playoffs.
And with Duren continuing to leave much to be desired from the Pistons’ interior presence, Paul Reed filled in when he could across 17 minutes with 10 points, eight rebounds and one assist. For the third consecutive game, B-Ball Paul has out-produced Duren in a head-to-head capacity despite logging far fewer minutes in each contest.
Now the Pistons are back in a do-or-die format with game six set to take place in Cleveland on Friday, May 13.
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