The Detroit Pistons suffered a game three loss to the Cleveland Cavs but still hold a 2-1 advantage in the second round series
On Saturday afternoon, the Detroit Pistons walked into a lively Cleveland environment for game three, which was a 116-109 loss to the Cavs that presented multiple different challenges compared to their first two wins in the series.
Unlike the first two iterations in Detroit, game three featured a Cavs squad that took control of the Eastern Conference Semifinals matchup from the jump. Cleveland’s defense held the Pistons to just 18 points in the second quarter, and the Cavs took a 16-point lead into halftime with their crowd loving every minute of it.
After the break, Donovan Mitchell proceeded to hit a flurry of key shots en route to a 35-point scoring effort at home, then James Harden took the baton in the fourth quarter with 10 of his 19 points coming in the final frame. With the Cavs’ dynamic scoring duo clicking and playing in rhythm, the Pistons made a late charge to momentarily retake the lead in the fourth quarter, but a trio of Cade Cunningham turnovers down the stretch sealed Detroit’s fate in the seven-point loss.
“I would say there were more defensive issues than offensive,” Thompson said after the game. “In the first half, I think I saw they were 24 for 35. I think I saw that on the big screen, so we just got to be better at that end.”
As a team, the Cavs shot 58% from the field as they cut the Pistons’ lead in the series to a 2-1 edge. Cleveland switched up their tactics during game three, and Thompson commented on how Detroit failed to make the proper adjustments in real-time.
“They were calling a lot of isos and they were sending their guards into the screens and slipping out and getting open shots,” Thompson said. “So, we just have to be better at communicating through those, but I have full faith in every one of my teammates in guarding.”
Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff had a similar read on the game. During the first two contests in Detroit, the Cavs worked to swing the ball around and manipulate the matchups on the outside with screens, but Cleveland went through their possessions with a more heliocentric approach in game three.
“They started to attack switches more and their guys went to more of their iso game,” Bickerstaff said. “We’ve got to do a better job of being in position to help one another. I thought our floor got a little more spaced than we normally are and guys had opportunity to drive the ball and get to the paint and make plays from there.”
However, the Pistons have one of the elite on-ball perimeter defenders in the NBA on their roster in Thompson, a player who shines during one-on-one matchups. Thompson is a defensive menace with immense versatility and the competitiveness to take on any scorer in the league, so that reality puts more of a spotlight on Bickerstaff’s decision to substitute Thompson out of the game in favor of Daniss Jenkins late in the fourth quarter. But apart from addressing that personnel decision, Bickerstaff offered a solution to the Pistons’ deficiencies from game three.
“We just gotta shrink the floor more,” Bickerstaff said. “We were just a little hugged up to our man too much because of their ability to shoot. We just need to do a better job of being tighter and when the ball moves, we can fly and close out to our guy.”
The Pistons have a day off to crunch the film before game four in Cleveland arrives on Monday, but do not expect for Detroit to be rattled in the slightest after surviving an intense seven-game series against the Magic in the first round. By now, the Pistons are battle-tested.
“Nothing shakes our confidence, so we have confidence no matter what the turnout of this game was,” Thompson said.
Tip-off for game four is set for 8 pm on Monday, April 11.
For more information on the latest Detroit Pistons team or player news, follow @EricJRutter on X for continued basketball coverage. Also be sure to look up Roundtable - Michigan Men Media on Facebook for continued social media coverage of all the sporting teams in the Mitten.