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.
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.
Cunningham made five 3-pointers as the Pistons went 16 of 36 from beyond the arc. 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.
James Harden scored 23 points for Cleveland, which suffered its first home loss of the postseason. Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley scored 18 apiece.
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.
Evan 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.
