Game ID: 42500206
Detroit Pistons @ Cleveland Cavaliers
Friday, May 15, 2026 at 7:00 PM ET
Rocket Arena, Cleveland, OH
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
CLE 25 26 19 24 94DET 27 27 30 31 115
CLE vs DET ScoutingCLE vs DET Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
CLE availability going into 5/07 · 1 day's restOUT Porter Jr. missed 5 since 4/26, out tonight
OUT Tomlin missed 5 since 4/26, out tonight
OUT Nance Jr. missed 5 since 4/26, out tonight
OUT Proctor missed 5 since 4/26, out tonight
BACK Ellis back 5/05 after 3, 11 min since (55% of 20)
CLE availability going into 5/09 · 1 day's restOUT Porter Jr. missed 6 since 4/26, out tonight
OUT Tomlin missed 6 since 4/26, out tonight
OUT Nance Jr. missed 6 since 4/26, out tonight
OUT Proctor missed 6 since 4/26, out tonight
BACK Ellis back 5/05 after 3, 8 min since (42% of 20)
CLE availability going into 5/11 · 1 day's restOUT Porter Jr. missed 7 since 4/26, returns tonight: 0 min (2% of 16)
OUT Tomlin missed 7 since 4/26, returns tonight: 0 min (2% of 14)
OUT Nance Jr. missed 7 since 4/26, out tonight
OUT Bryant missed 2 since 5/07, returns tonight: 0 min (3% of 11)
OUT Proctor missed 7 since 4/26, returns tonight: 0 min (3% of 10)
BACK Ellis back 5/05 after 3, 8 min since (42% of 20)
CLE availability going into 5/13 · 1 day's restOUT Nance Jr. missed 8 since 4/26, out tonight
BACK Ellis back 5/05 after 3, 6 min since (29% of 20)
BACK Porter Jr. back 5/11 after 7, 0 min since (2% of 16)
BACK Tomlin back 5/11 after 7, 0 min since (2% of 14)
BACK Bryant back 5/11 after 2, 0 min since (3% of 11)
BACK Proctor back 5/11 after 7, 0 min since (3% of 10)
CLE availability going into 5/15 · 1 day's restOUT Nance Jr. missed 9 since 4/26, out tonight
BACK Ellis back 5/05 after 3, 6 min since (29% of 20)
BACK Porter Jr. back 5/11 after 7, 0 min since (2% of 16)
BACK Tomlin back 5/11 after 7, 0 min since (2% of 14)
BACK Bryant back 5/11 after 2, 0 min since (3% of 11)
BACK Proctor back 5/11 after 7, 0 min since (3% of 10)
NEW Mobley 33 to 38 min over the last 5
CLE availability going into 5/17 · 1 day's restOUT Nance Jr. missed 10 since 4/26, out tonight
OUT Proctor missed 2 since 5/13, out tonight
BACK Porter Jr. back 5/11 after 7, 1 min since (8% of 16)
BACK Tomlin back 5/11 after 7, 1 min since (9% of 14)
BACK Bryant back 5/11 after 2, 1 min since (12% of 11)
NEW Mobley 33 to 38 min over the last 5
CLE availability going into 5/19 · 1 day's restOUT Nance Jr. missed 11 since 4/26, out tonight
OUT Proctor missed 3 since 5/13, out tonight
BACK Porter Jr. back 5/11 after 7, 2 min since (14% of 16)
BACK Tomlin back 5/11 after 7, 2 min since (16% of 14)
BACK Bryant back 5/11 after 2, 2 min since (20% of 11)
NEW Mobley 33 to 38 min over the last 5
CLE availability going into 5/21 · 1 day's restOUT Nance Jr. missed 12 since 4/26, out tonight
OUT Proctor missed 4 since 5/13, returns tonight: 1 min (12% of 10)
BACK Porter Jr. back 5/11 after 7, 2 min since (14% of 16)
BACK Tomlin back 5/11 after 7, 2 min since (16% of 14)
BACK Bryant back 5/11 after 2, 2 min since (20% of 11)
NEW Mobley 33 to 39 min over the last 5
CLE availability going into 5/23 · 1 day's restOUT Nance Jr. missed 13 since 4/26, out tonight
BACK Proctor back 5/21 after 4, 1 min since (12% of 10)
NEW Mobley 33 to 38 min over the last 5
DET availability going into 5/07 · 1 day's restOUT Huerter missed 4 since 4/29, out tonight
BACK Holland II back 5/03 after 4, 6 min since (30% of 18)
BACK Reed back 5/01 after 2, 6 min since (48% of 13)
BACK Sasser back 5/03 after 4, 1 min since (10% of 12)
NEW Cunningham 35 to 41 min over the last 5
NEW Harris 29 to 36 min over the last 5
NEW Thompson 27 to 34 min over the last 5
DET availability going into 5/09 · 1 day's restOUT Huerter missed 5 since 4/29, out tonight
OUT Reed missed 2 since 5/05, returns tonight: 10 min (74% of 13)
OUT Sasser missed 2 since 5/05, out tonight
BACK Holland II back 5/03 after 4, 7 min since (37% of 18)
NEW Cunningham 35 to 42 min over the last 5
NEW Harris 29 to 36 min over the last 5
NEW Thompson 27 to 33 min over the last 5
DET availability going into 5/11 · 1 day's restOUT Huerter missed 6 since 4/29, out tonight
OUT Sasser missed 3 since 5/05, returns tonight: 3 min (24% of 12)
BACK Holland II back 5/03 after 4, 6 min since (33% of 18)
BACK Reed back 5/01 after 2, 8 min since (57% of 13)
NEW Cunningham 35 to 41 min over the last 5
NEW Harris 29 to 38 min over the last 5
NEW Robinson 28 to 35 min over the last 5
DET availability going into 5/13 · 1 day's restOUT Huerter missed 7 since 4/29, returns tonight: 3 min (18% of 19)
BACK Holland II back 5/03 after 4, 6 min since (34% of 18)
BACK Reed back 5/09 after 2, 12 min since (89% of 13)
BACK Sasser back 5/03 after 4, 2 min since (17% of 12)
NEW Cunningham 35 to 40 min over the last 5
NEW Harris 29 to 37 min over the last 5
NEW Robinson 28 to 33 min over the last 5
DET availability going into 5/15 · 1 day's restBACK Huerter back 5/13 after 7, 3 min since (18% of 19)
BACK Reed back 5/09 after 2, 14 min since (102% of 13)
BACK Sasser back 5/11 after 3, 9 min since (78% of 12)
NEW Cunningham 35 to 42 min over the last 5
NEW Harris 29 to 38 min over the last 5
NEW Jenkins 21 to 27 min over the last 5
DET availability going into 5/17 · 1 day's restOUT Green missed 2 since 5/13, out tonight
BACK Huerter back 5/13 after 7, 3 min since (18% of 19)
BACK Reed back 5/09 after 2, 14 min since (107% of 13)
BACK Sasser back 5/11 after 3, 12 min since (103% of 12)
NEW Cunningham 35 to 42 min over the last 5
NEW Harris 29 to 35 min over the last 5
NEW Jenkins 21 to 27 min over the last 5
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Cleveland comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 109, shooting 47 percent and 34 from three, 29 free throws a game; Mitchell at 31 and Harden at 21 a game. That is 3 straight wins. One day's rest. Detroit comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 109, shooting 46 percent and 40 from three, 22 free throws a game; Cunningham at 27 and Harris at 18 a game. That is 3 straight losses. One day's rest.
So: Cleveland wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Detroit has been plus-3 a night and Cleveland minus-3 and the arc, Detroit at 40 percent from three to Cleveland's 34. Call it Cleveland 112, Detroit 111, Detroit keeping it close.
5/07 @ DET 97-107 — CLE notes
CLE lost 97-107. CLE shot 42% (34 of 81) to DET's 49%, 7 of 32 from three, and went to the line 27 times to DET's 20 — 22 points from the stripe to their 15. Mitchell led with 31 (11 of 24, 2 of 9 from three, 7 of 9 at the line); Allen added 22, Harden 10. Q3 was theirs, 32-25, the deficit cut from 11 to 4, but the other 3 periods went 82-65 against them. Harden's -15 in 37 minutes was the worst on the floor.
5/09 vs DET 116-109 — CLE notes
CLE won 116-109. CLE shot 58% (43 of 74) to DET's 45%, 12 of 32 from three, and went to the line 28 times to DET's 22 — 18 points from the stripe to their 18. Mitchell led with 35 (13 of 24, 2 of 8 from three, 7 of 8 at the line); Harden added 19, Allen 18. The hinge was Q2, 32-18: a lead of 2 became 16.
5/11 vs DET 112-103 — CLE notes
CLE won 112-103. CLE shot 44% (34 of 78) to DET's 51%, 14 of 41 from three, and went to the line 34 times to DET's 12 — 30 points from the stripe to their 9. CLE turned it over 13 times to DET's 18. Mitchell led with 43 (13 of 26, 4 of 12 from three, 13 of 15 at the line); Harden added 24, Mobley 17. The hinge was Q3, 38-21: CLE came in trailing by 4 and left it ahead by 13, and the lead reached 21. CLE trailed 52-56 at the half and won the second half 60-47. Mobley was the night's best plus/minus at +30.
5/13 @ DET 117-113 — CLE notes
CLE won 117-113 in 1 overtime. CLE shot 45% (36 of 80) to DET's 44%, 14 of 35 from three, and went to the line 38 times to DET's 20 — 31 points from the stripe to their 18. CLE turned it over 16 times to DET's 10, and DET turned those into 10 steals. Harden led with 30 (8 of 21, 3 of 10 from three, 11 of 14 at the line); Mitchell added 21, Strus 20. The hinge was Q3, 32-20: CLE came in trailing by 8 and left it ahead by 4. CLE trailed 52-60 at the half and won the second half 65-53. Allen was the night's best plus/minus at +14.
5/15 vs DET 94-115 — CLE notes
CLE lost 94-115. CLE shot 39% (30 of 77) to DET's 52%, 12 of 35 from three, and went to the line 30 times to DET's 19 — 22 points from the stripe to their 13. Harden led with 23 (6 of 13, 3 of 8 from three, 8 of 10 at the line); Mitchell added 18, Mobley 18. Q2 was theirs, 26-27, but the other 3 periods went 88-68 against them. Mitchell's -25 in 37 minutes was the worst on the floor.
5/17 @ DET — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Detroit comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 107, shooting 48 percent and 41 from three, 19 free throws a game; Cunningham at 26 and Harris at 15 a game. Without Green (2 straight). One day's rest. Cleveland comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 107 a night and allowing 109, shooting 45 percent and 34 from three, 31 free throws a game; Mitchell at 30 and Harden at 21 a game. One day's rest.
So: Detroit wins, and the game turns on the line, where Cleveland takes 31 free throws a game to Detroit's 19 and the arc, Detroit at 41 percent from three to Cleveland's 34. Call it Detroit 114, Cleveland 109.
5/19 @ NYK — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New York comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 127 a night and allowing 99, shooting 55 percent and 43 from three, 27 free throws a game; Brunson at 27 and Anunoby at 24 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 11 a night. Without Anunoby (2 straight). 8 days' rest. Cleveland comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 107, shooting 47 percent and 36 from three, 35 free throws a game; Mitchell at 29 and Harden at 21 a game. One day's rest.
So: New York wins, and the game turns on the glass, where New York has been plus-11 a night and Cleveland plus-0 and the arc, New York at 43 percent from three to Cleveland's 36. Call it New York 118, Cleveland 108, New York by 10.
5/21 @ NYK — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New York comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 122 a night and allowing 102, shooting 53 percent and 42 from three, 27 free throws a game; Brunson at 31 and Anunoby at 18 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 10 a night. One day's rest. Cleveland comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 110 a night and allowing 108, shooting 44 percent and 34 from three, 34 free throws a game; Mitchell at 27 and Harden at 20 a game. One day's rest.
So: New York wins, and the game turns on the glass, where New York has been plus-10 a night and Cleveland minus-0 and the arc, New York at 42 percent from three to Cleveland's 34. Call it New York 117, Cleveland 108.
5/23 vs NYK — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Cleveland comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 107 a night and allowing 109, shooting 43 percent and 33 from three, 33 free throws a game; Mitchell at 24 and Harden at 19 a game. One day's rest. New York comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 101, shooting 51 percent and 39 from three, 26 free throws a game; Brunson at 28 and Bridges at 18 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 8 a night. One day's rest.
So: New York wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where New York has been plus-8 a night and Cleveland plus-1 and the arc, New York at 39 percent from three to Cleveland's 33. Call it New York 113, Cleveland 110, Cleveland keeping it close.
5/07 vs CLE 107-97 — DET notes
DET won 107-97. DET shot 49% (39 of 80) to CLE's 42%, 14 of 28 from three, and got to the line 20 times to CLE's 27. Cunningham led with 25 (7 of 14, 3 of 6 from three, 8 of 8 at the line); Harris added 21, Robinson 17. The hinge was Q1, 25-18: from level to 7 ahead. Cunningham was the night's best plus/minus at +13.
5/09 @ CLE 109-116 — DET notes
DET lost 109-116. DET took 17 more shots (91 to 74), fed by 17 offensive rebounds, but shot 45% to CLE's 58%, 9 of 25 from three, and got to the line 22 times to CLE's 28. Cunningham led with 27 (10 of 27, 2 of 6 from three, 5 of 6 at the line); Harris added 21, Robinson 15. Q3 was theirs, 33-19, the deficit cut from 16 to 2, but the other 3 periods went 97-76 against them. Jenkins's -28 in 18 minutes was the worst on the floor.
5/11 @ CLE 103-112 — DET notes
DET lost 103-112. DET shot 51% (42 of 83) to CLE's 44%, 10 of 23 from three, and got to the line just 12 times against 27 fouls committed. DET turned it over 18 times to CLE's 13, and CLE turned those into 11 steals. LeVert led with 24 (10 of 16, 3 of 6 from three); Cunningham added 19, Harris 16. Q4 was theirs, 26-22, the deficit cut from 13 to 9, but the other 3 periods went 90-77 against them. Thompson's -27 in 19 minutes was the worst on the floor.
5/13 vs CLE 113-117 — DET notes
DET lost 113-117 in 1 overtime. DET took 15 more shots (95 to 80), fed by 15 offensive rebounds, but shot 44% to CLE's 45%, 11 of 33 from three, and got to the line 20 times to CLE's 38. DET turned it over 10 times to CLE's 16. Cunningham led with 39 (13 of 27, 6 of 10 from three, 7 of 8 at the line); Jenkins added 19, Harris 13. Q2 was theirs, 31-25, but the other 4 periods went 92-82 against them. They led by as many as 15. Duren's -16 in 25 minutes was the worst on the floor.
5/15 @ CLE 115-94 — DET notes
DET won 115-94. DET shot 52% (43 of 82) to CLE's 39%, 16 of 36 from three, and got to the line 19 times to CLE's 30. Cunningham led with 21 (7 of 19, 5 of 10 from three); Reed added 17, Jenkins 15. The hinge was Q3, 30-19: a lead of 3 became 14, and the lead reached 22. Sasser was the night's best plus/minus at +27.
5/17 vs CLE — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Detroit comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 107, shooting 48 percent and 41 from three, 19 free throws a game; Cunningham at 26 and Harris at 15 a game. Without Green (2 straight). One day's rest. Cleveland comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 107 a night and allowing 109, shooting 45 percent and 34 from three, 31 free throws a game; Mitchell at 30 and Harden at 21 a game. One day's rest.
So: Detroit wins, and the game turns on the line, where Cleveland takes 31 free throws a game to Detroit's 19 and the arc, Detroit at 41 percent from three to Cleveland's 34. Call it Detroit 114, Cleveland 109.
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
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
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
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.