Detroit Pistons @ Cleveland Cavaliers
Friday, May 15, 2026 at 7:00 PM ET
Rocket Arena, Cleveland, OH | Game ID: 42500206
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
CLE 25 26 19 24 94DET 27 27 30 31 115
ESPN UpdateESPN Update
Cade Cunningham scores 21 and Pistons dominate 2nd half to beat Cavs 115-94 and force Game 7
CLEVELAND -- — Cade Cunningham scored 21 points and the top-seeded Detroit Pistons dominated the second half, beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 115-94 on Friday night to force a Game 7 in their Eastern Conference second-round series.
The decisive game is Sunday in Detroit.
“It’s going to be a fun environment for us and we’re excited to get back to the crib,” Cunningham said.
The Pistons’ 21-point victory tied a 66-year-old NBA playoff record for the largest Game 6 road win by a team trailing 3-2 in a series. The St. Louis Hawks beat the Minneapolis Lakers 117-96 in a the 1960 West Division finals.
Jalen Duren had 15 points and 11 rebounds while Daniss Jenkins also scored 15 for the Pistons, who have won four games this postseason when facing elimination.
They were down 3-1 to Orlando before winning the last three to advance out of the first round.
“We did what needed to be done. When we’re at our best, it’s the defense and the physicality that’s going to carry us,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “I was pleased that we were allowed to play our style of basketball tonight where we can be legally physical and handsy, and just make it difficult on people.”
Cunningham made five 3-pointers as the Pistons went 16 of 36 from beyond the arc, tied for their most this preseason. Duncan Robinson , who missed Wednesday's Game 5 with a lower back injury, had four 3-pointers and scored 14 points off the bench.
Paul Reed also had 17 points as Detroit’s reserves outscored Cleveland’s 48-19.
“It has been a collective effort. We needed every bit of it. Great team win,” Cunningham said.
James Harden scored 23 points for Cleveland, which suffered its first home loss of the postseason. Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley scored 18 apiece.
“We never really kicked it to that second level. And we need to get to that third and fourth level. It was never just a consistent flow at either end of the floor, which is frustrating,” Harden said.
Detroit asserted its will on the offensive boards and took advantage of Cleveland turnovers. The Pistons converted 13 offensive rebounds into 20 points. The Cavaliers had 20 turnovers, which resulted in 28 Detroit points.
The Pistons were up 54-41 at halftime and started the second half with a 12-2 run. The Cavaliers rallied to get within 74-68 before the Pistons put it away with a 13-2 spurt.
Mobley missed a dunk and Marcus Sasser drove the length of the floor for a layup at the buzzer to give Detroit a 84-70 lead at the end of the third quarter.
“It starts with us in the starting lineup. We got hit in the mouth and we didn’t punch back,” Mitchell said.
DET KarmaHide StintsShow StintsHide PMShow PMHide KarmaShow KarmaHide ScoresShow Scores
Who
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
CLEDM D. Mitchell
DS D. Schröder
DW D. Wade
EM E. Mobley
JA J. Allen
JH J. Harden
JT J. Tyson
KE K. Ellis
MS M. Strus
NT N. Tomlin
SM S. Merrill
SC Schroder
TB T. Bryant
DETAT A. Thompson
CC C. Cunningham
CL C. LeVert
DJ D. Jenkins
DR D. Robinson
IS I. Stewart
JD J. Duren
MS M. Sasser
PR P. Reed
RH R. Holland II
TH T. Harris
CLE/DET the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur