A strong defensive first half and late heroics from Cade Cunningham allowed the Detroit Pistons to take a 2-0 series lead in the second round.
They defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 2 at Little Caesars Arena, 107-97, on Thursday, May 7. It’s their fifth straight win of the 2026 NBA playoffs, and fourth at home.
Tobias Harris (21 points, 9-for-16 shooting) scored at least 20 for the seventh consecutive game for the Pistons. The 33-year-old will be an unrestricted free agent after the season.
The Cavaliers erased a 14-point Pistons lead in the second half and briefly took the lead early in the fourth, 81-79. An assertive finish for Cunningham, who had just six points in the first half, helped them retake the lead for good.
Cunningham scored 12 of his 25 points in the fourth to go with 10 assists. His dagger stepback 3-pointer off a slick right-to-left crossover against Max Strus gave the Pistons a 101-92 advantage at 2:12, and officially put the game out of reach.
He received “MVP” chants from the raucous home crowd as he hit two free throws with 22.7 seconds on the clock.
[ Cunningham sends a message with Game 2 takeover: We belong here ]
Cleveland went 0-for-11 on 3s in the fourth, and finished 7-for-32 (21.9%).
Harris (21 points, six rebounds), Duncan Robinson (17 points), Daniss Jenkins (14 points, six rebounds, four assists) and Ausar Thompson (10 points, seven rebounds, two assists, two steals) also reached double figures.
Jenkins continued his torrid play, hitting the Pistons’ third buzzer-beater 3-pointer at the end of a quarter in this series, draining a 3 from the left wing to give the Pistons a 79-75 edge entering the fourth.
Midway through the fourth, Thompson couldn’t grab hold of a defensive rebound and accidentally tipped the ball in, cutting the Pistons’ lead to 89-87. Cunningham scored their next seven points – a 3-pointer and midrange jumper over James Harden, followed by a pair of free throws for a 96-91 lead with 3:53 to go.
Donovan Mitchell led Cleveland with 31 points on 11-for-24 shooting.
Harden was held to 10 points and three assists on 3-for-13 shooting. It’s his 30th career playoff game with more turnovers (four) than made field goals. He entered with the fifth most of those games in playoff history, per ESPN.
Game 3 is Saturday in Cleveland (3 p.m., NBC/Peacock). Game 4 is Monday night.
Here are four more takeaways from Game 2:
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Defense ruthless, offense consistent
It was another strong defensive start for the Pistons, who led the Cavaliers by 18 in the first quarter in Game 1. They built a 25-14 lead late in the first quarter while holding the Cavaliers to 6-for-17 shooting. Cleveland, down 25-18 after the first, committed six turnovers and struggled to find daylight against the Pistons’ crew of perimeter defenders.
The Pistons led by as many as 14 (52-38) in the first half, despite a quiet start for Cunningham. The Pistons shot 53.7% and knocked down seven of 15 3-point attempts, while holding the Cavaliers to 39.5% overall.
A 3-pointer from Robinson with 1:22 remaining in the second quarter capped a 16-7 run that gave the Pistons their biggest lead of the night, 52-36. Momentum shifted in the third quarter, though, after Thompson exited at the 10:33 mark with his fourth foul.
Cleveland outscored the Pistons 32-22 in the third before the late 3-pointer from Jenkins, and whittled an 11-point Pistons lead at halftime (54-43) to 76-75, with 17.5 seconds left in the third. With Thompson on the bench, the Cavaliers came alive offensively and hit 11 of their 20 attempts (55%) in the period, led by Mitchell’s 11 points.
A 6-0 Cavaliers run to open the fourth quarter followed, and the Pistons trailed for the first time since the 10:18 mark of the first with an 81-79 deficit. A 10-2 Pistons answer with a corner 3-pointer from Robinson restored an 89-83 cushion.
Thompson sealed the game by helping to pick Harden on a drive with 33 seconds left and the Pistons up 103-97. Jalen Duren (eight points, 10 rebounds) hit two free throws on the other end, extending the lead to 105-97 with 26.8 seconds left.
Tobias Harris shakes off hip injury, scores 20+ again
For a brief moment midway through the opening period, it appeared the Pistons had lost their second-leading playoff scorer to injury.
Harris fell and held his left hip after backpedaling on defense to stick with Mitchell. It took a few moments for him to gather himself, and he briefly left the floor with 6:54 on the clock.
It was a false alarm – Harris immediately checked back in and went on to play 37 minutes, stepping up once again to help them fight off the Cavaliers down the stretch. He scored six in the fourth, including a midrange jumper with 3:13 to play for a 98-91 lead.
Harris has scored at least 20 points in seven straight games, giving the Pistons a needed offensive punch and secondary option alongside Cunningham. He’s averaging 21.3 points per game in the playoffs.
Trust in Daniss Jenkins continues paying off
The former two-way guard couldn’t buy a bucket at the start of the postseason. He shot 26.3% through Games 1-6 against the Orlando Magic, but he didn’t lose his spot in the rotation. Coach J.B. Bickerstaff knew the Pistons would need his clutch shotmaking and ballhandling.
Jenkins figured it out in Game 7, and has been one of their top players since. Thursday was his third game in a row reaching double figures in scoring, and he reached the milestone in the first half with 11 points, along with four assists and four rebounds, to lead the Pistons.
He was aggressive, pacing the team with 10 shot attempts, and frequently pushed the pace to get their transition game going. And he closed the third quarter with a bang after the Cavaliers cut it to one, knocking down a 3-pointer at the buzzer to make it a two-possession game again, 79-75 following a Cleveland run.
Ron Holland steps up for James Harden assignment
Foul trouble limited Thompson to just 11 minutes in the first half. He picked up two in the first quarter, and then sat for the rest of the second quarter after the 7:46 mark after he was whistled for a push on Harden, which the superstar guard sold to the officials.
Harden already was having a rough half. It didn’t get better after Holland replaced Thompson. The following possession, Holland picked up Harden full-court and eventually cut off a drive to the rim, getting a hand on his layup attempt and forcing a turnover.
Later in the quarter, Harden declined to attack Cunningham in transition with a head of steam, instead resetting the possession and taking the ball back to the wing. Holland picked him up and poked the ball away for a steal when Harden tried posting him up.
Harden struggled in the first half along with the rest of the Cavaliers with just eight points, three turnovers and an assist on 2-for-10 shooting.
After playing just one minute in the final five games of the first round against the Magic, Holland has played a pivotal role as a Harden stopper through the first two games of Round 2.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tobias Harris on a mission, Pistons punish Cavs in Game 2 for 2-0 lead
Reporting by Omari Sankofa II, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
