Cade Cunningham Sparks 111-101 Win as Cavs Vs Pistons Prediction Shifts
Cade Cunningham scored 23 points and the Pistons beat the Cavaliers 111-101 in Game 1 of their second-round series on Tuesday night, May 5, 2026. The cavs vs pistons prediction changed quickly after Detroit took home-court advantage and ended a 12-game postseason losing streak against Cleveland.
Detroit led 37-31 after the first quarter and pushed the margin to 59-46 at halftime, then kept the game in hand after Ron Holland hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to end the third quarter and make it 83-76. Tobias Harris added 20 points and Duncan Robinson scored 19 for the Pistons.
Cunningham, Harris, Robinson
The Pistons did most of their damage by forcing 20 turnovers that produced 31 points. That edge let them survive Cleveland’s push after the Cavaliers had pulled even midway through the fourth quarter while trailing by as much as 18 points.
James Harden tied the game at 93-all with 5:28 left, but Jalen Duren blocked his next shot and dunked on Detroit’s next three possessions. The late stretch turned the game back toward Detroit before it closed out the final 10-point margin.
Harden and Mitchell
Donovan Mitchell scored 23 points, Harden finished with 22, and Max Strus added 19 for Cleveland. Jarrett Allen had two points and three rebounds, a small output in a game where Detroit kept enough pressure on the ball to force the Cavaliers into mistakes that became points at the other end.
The result also fit the shape of the matchup entering the series. Detroit finished with 60 victories and the East’s top seed, won the Central Division by eight games ahead of Cleveland, and had already rallied from a 3-1 deficit against Orlando to reach the second round. Cleveland arrived after outlasting Toronto in seven games for the third straight year.
Bickerstaff and the rematch
The series has another layer beyond the score. J. B. Bickerstaff, who was fired by the Cavaliers and hired a month later by the Pistons, was on Detroit’s bench as his team took control of Game 1 and snapped a postseason skid that had stretched back to the 2007 Eastern Conference finals.
Tobias Harris put the tone plainly after the win: “That's what this series presents, but we're up for a challenge,” and, “I thought tonight we did a great job of that.” For Cleveland, the response now has to start with cleaner possessions after 20 turnovers turned into 31 Pistons points.
