Cade Cunningham finished Saturday night with 27 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists — his first triple-double of the postseason — and the Detroit Pistons still lost Game 3 to the Cleveland Cavaliers, 116-109. Three of his eight turnovers came in a 41-second stretch late in the fourth quarter, and Cleveland turned them into the lead it would never give back. Detroit's series lead shrinks to 2-1. Game 4 tips at 8 p.m. ET on Monday in Cleveland.
The Stat Line and the Footnote
Cunningham went 10-of-27 from the field (37%), 2-of-6 from three, and 5-of-6 from the line over 39 minutes. The rebounds and assists made up most of the difference. He was the most productive player on the floor for Detroit by a wide margin. He also committed nearly as many turnovers in one game as he had in the first two games of the series combined.
The turnover sequence in question came with under three minutes left and Detroit within striking distance. Three live-ball turnovers in 41 seconds — a stripped drive, a telegraphed cross-court pass, a ball-handling slip — turned a one-possession game into a six-point Cavaliers lead. Cleveland scored on each of the resulting transition possessions. Cunningham himself called the sequence "not careless," arguing the reads were right and the execution failed; the box score is the box score either way.
What Cleveland Did
Donovan Mitchell put up 35 points and 10 rebounds, his best playoff game of the postseason. James Harden — 19 points, 10 assists — hit a step-back three with 25 seconds left that effectively ended the game. Max Strus's go-ahead layup off a stolen inbound pass with 2:28 remaining was the swing play before Cunningham's collapse. Coach Kenny Atkinson called it "a team win where a lot of guys contributed," which is a coach's way of saying his stars finally showed up while Mobley took a quieter night.
This was Cleveland's first win of the series after losing the first two games in Detroit. The Cavaliers' issue all postseason has been late-game execution — they've blown leads in five fourth quarters since the playoffs started. Game 3 was the first time they reversed that pattern.
What Detroit Has to Fix
The bigger picture: Cunningham averaged 28-7-7 across the first three games of this series. He is the engine. He is also Detroit's only ball-handler when the Cavaliers blitz the pick-and-roll, and Cleveland has started doing that almost every possession in late-game situations. The Pistons need to find a secondary creator who can survive against a trapping defense — Ausar Thompson, Jaden Ivey when healthy, or whoever Coach J.B. Bickerstaff trusts in those minutes.
In the first round, the Magic exposed the same weakness in Game 1 before the Pistons adjusted. The series turned because Cunningham learned to pass out of the trap and Detroit's role players hit threes. Cleveland is a better defensive team than Orlando. The adjustment has to be faster.
Game 4 Stakes
If Detroit wins tonight, the series goes 3-1 and Game 5 in Detroit becomes a closeout opportunity. If Cleveland wins, the series is tied 2-2 with home court neutralized and the Cavaliers' confidence restored after Game 3. The history of best-of-seven series tied 2-2 favors no one consistently — but the team that just won Game 3 wins Game 4 roughly 60% of the time. Cleveland is the more dangerous team right now.
Tip-off is 8 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock. Cunningham, on the night, will be the story either way.
Source: ESPN · CBS Sports
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