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Game 5 Scoring Comparison
Top scorers from the Cavaliers and Pistons in Game 5
Primary Sources
NBA Playoffs: Cavaliers rally past Pistons in OT for 3-2 lead
James Harden #1 and Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Cleveland Cavaliers look on against the Detroit Pistons during overtime in Game Five of the Second Round of the NBA Eastern Conference Playoffs at Little Caesars Arena on May 13, 2026 in Detroit, Michigan. Gregory Shamus/Getty Images/AFP ( DETROIT— James Harden scored a playoff-best 30 points and Donovan Mitchell had 21, helping the Cleveland Cavaliers come back from a nine-point deficit late in regulation and beat the Detroit Pistons 117-113 in overtime on Wednesday night to take a 3-2 lead in their NBA Eastern Conference semifinal series. The Pistons led by 15 points in the first half and 103-94 with two-plus minutes left. The Cavs rallied and pulled into a 103-all tie on Evan Mobley’s free throws with 45.2 seconds left. Article continues after this advertisement READ: NBA Playoffs: Donovan Mitchell flips Game 4 for Cavs vs PistonsFEATURED STORIES SPORTS SPORTS SPORTS Cleveland went on a 13-0 run and held Detroit scoreless for five minutes from late in fourth quarter to midway through overtime. The Cavs went ahead by seven with 2:39 left in OT on Mitchell’s 3-pointer. Cade Cunningham, who had 39 points and nine assists, made a jumper to pull the Pistons within two points with 25 seconds left. Harden made one free throw on the ensuing possession and rebounded his missed second attempt. He made another free throw to help seal the win. Article continues after this advertisement James Harden BALLED OUT in Game 5: 30 PTS8 REB6 AST3 BLK3 3PM Cavs can advance to the Eastern Conference Finals with a win on Friday at 7:00pm/et on Prime 😤 pic.twitter.com/XKrFpIsyh4 — NBA (@NBA) May 14, 2026 Game 6 is Friday night in Cleveland, where the fourth-seeded Cavs will get the first of two chances to advance to face the New York Knicks in the East finals. If the top-seeded Pistons win, they will host Game 7 on Sunday. Article continues after this advertisement Cleveland won the first road game of the series — and its first as a visitor this postseason. The Pistons had won four straight games at home since Orlando put them on the brink of elimination in Game 5 of the first round. Harden had eight rebounds and six assists. Max Strus made six 3-pointers and scored 20 points for the Cavs, Mobley added 19 points and Jarrett Allen had 16 points and nine rebounds. Starting in place of the injured Duncan Robinson, Daniss Jenkins scored 19 points for the Pistons. Tobias Harris missed 13 of 19 shots and scored 13 points, and ...
Cavaliers rally late, beat Pistons for 3-2 lead in NBA Playoff ...
Cleveland Cavaliers beat Detroit Pistons 117-113 in overtime on the back of Harden’s 30 points in Game 5 of the series.James Harden scored 30 points and Donovan Mitchell added 21, including seven in overtime, as the Cleveland Cavaliers rallied to beat the Detroit Pistons 117-113 and take a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals.Max Strus had 20 points and eight rebounds and Evan Mobley added 19 points, eight rebounds and eight assists for the Cavaliers, who snapped a five-game road playoff losing streak on Wednesday.Harden had eight rebounds and six assists, while Jarrett Allen contributed 16 points and 10 boards.“You hope it propels us. You hope it galvanises us. You hope we carry it forward,” Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said.Cade Cunningham finished with 39 points, nine rebounds and seven assists and Daniss Jenkins added 19 points for the Pistons, who will face elimination for the fourth time this postseason.“It’s a tough loss,” Cunningham said. “Obviously wanted to protect our own court. We failed to do that. Being up 3-2 is an advantage for them.”“[Donovan] struggled a little bit offensively, but that’s why he has a team and guys that pick him up,” Harden said. “Max [Strus] came through, made some big shots. Dennis [Schroder] came in, played extremely well. So this is a team effort.”Cleveland took control early in overtime, scoring nine of the first 11 points to build a 112-105 lead.Cunningham’s jump shot brought Detroit within 113-111 with 25.9 seconds remaining, but the Cavaliers closed it out at the free-throw line. Harden and Mobley combined to hit four of six foul shots in the final seconds.“They started doubling and getting the ball out of Cade’s hands. We’ll find ways to fix it. We’ll be better,” Pistons coach JB Bickerstaff said.Cleveland pushed their lead to four early in the fourth quarter, but Detroit responded with a 15-2 run to take a 100-91 advantage with just less than four minutes left.Cleveland missed their first nine shots of the period before rallying late, eventually pulling even at 103 on Mobley’s two free throws with 45.2 seconds to play. The Cavaliers had a chance to win, but were unable to get a shot off on their final possession before time expired.“It’s about exploiting whatever they’re doing that’s giving us advantages. I just haven’t done a good enough job of drawing the two and then getting the ball to guys cleanly,” Cunningham said.The Pistons came out aggressively and grabbed an early 7-2 lead behind Jenkins...
Cavaliers rally late to steal Game 5 road win over Pistons
James Harden scored 30 points, helping the Cavaliers rally from a deficit late in regulation and beat the Pistons 117-113 in OT in Game 5 on Wednesday.
4 takeaways: Cavaliers earn overtime victory and 3-2 edge over Pistons
The Cleveland Cavaliers won a road playoff game and did so despite shaky shooting from Donovan Mitchell. It's hard to tell which one was more disbelieving, but both happened in the swing game of their semifinal series, and because of that, the Cavs can close out the top-seeded Detroit Pistons in Cleveland on Friday.
