Donovan Mitchell, Cavs Ride Historic Scoring Run to Tie Series vs. Pistons, Fans React to Game 4 Win
Donovan Mitchell and the Cleveland Cavaliers battled back in the series against Cade Cunningham and the Detroit Pistons with a 112-103 victory Monday to even the series at 2-2.
After dropping the first two games on the road, Cleveland responded with back-to-back wins at Rocket Arena to tie the series.
Behind a 2026 postseason-high 43 points on 50 percent shooting from the field, including five 3-pointers from Mitchell, and a historic 25-0 run to open the third quarter, the Cavaliers secured the win over the No. 1-seeded Pistons.
James Harden added 24 points and 11 assists and four steals, while Jarrett Allen finished with nine points, five rebounds and two blocks. Evan Mobley notched 17 points and five blocks.
Detroit's Cunningham was held to a 2026 postseason low with 19 points and six assists as the Pistons came up short on the road. Tobias Harris added 16 points and eight rebounds, while Caris LeVert led the way with 24 points off the bench.
Detroit defended home court with back-to-back series opening victories, 111-101 and 107-97, fueled by Cunningham's combined 48 points and 17 assists across the two games.
Cunningham continued his strong play in Game 3 with a triple-double, but Cleveland responded behind Mitchell's previous series-high of 35 points and 10 rebounds to avoid a 3-0 series deficit.
The Cavaliers carried that momentum into Game 4, stunning Detroit once again with a dominant second-half performance to even the series.
A look at the semifinal playoff bracket.
Western Conference
No. 1 Oklahoma City Thunder lead No. 4 Los Angeles Lakers, 3-0
No. 6 Minnesota Timberwolves tied No. 2 San Antonio Spurs, 2-2
Eastern Conference
No. 1 Detroit Pistons lead No. 4 Cleveland Cavaliers, 2-2
No. 3 New York Knicks defeat No. 7 Philadelphia 76ers, 4-0
The winner of the series between the No. 1 Detroit Pistons and No. 4 Cleveland Cavaliers will advance to the Eastern Conference finals to face the No. 3 New York Knicks, who secured a series win over Philadelphia on Sunday.
The series returns to Detroit for Game 5 on Wednesday, with tipoff TBD.
