NBA

Cleveland Cavaliers at Detroit Pistons

· National Basketball Association
59-15, 28-10 Away
Final
122 - 133

42-32, 21-16 Home

Pistons beat East-leading Cavaliers 133-122 and lock down 1st winning season since 2016

Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Detroit Pistons: Game Highlights

Detroit withstood a 38-point performance by Cleveland's Donovan Mitchell, who scored 22 in the fourth quarter.

The Pistons (42-32) played without Cade Cunningham (calf) and were still able to end a 12-game losing streak against Cleveland.

Dennis Schroder started for Cunningham and had 16 points and 10 assists. Jalen Duren added 16 points and 13 rebounds, and Ausur Thompson contributed 18 points and 10 boards for Detroit, which failed to win 25 games in the last five seasons.

The Pistons have eight regular-season games remaining. With three more wins, Detroit could reach 45 victories for the first time since going 59-23 in 2007-08 — also the last season it won a playoff game.

Darius Garland had 21 points for Cleveland, which hadn't lost to the Pistons since Feb. 24, 2022, when current Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff was in charge of the Cavaliers.

The Cavaliers trailed 108-89 with 8:56 to play and closed within 119-117 on Mitchell's 3-pointer with 3:31 left. Detroit answered with a 12-1 run to close out the win.

Takeaways Cavaliers: Are a victory away from their first 60-win season since 2009-10.

Pistons: Cunningham missed his third straight game and is listed as day-to-day.

Key moment Hardaway had 10 points as the Pistons started the second half with a 13-4 run to take a 76-62 lead. The Pistons finished the quarter with a 38-25 advantage for an 18-point lead heading into the fourth.

Key stat The Pistons had a 25-6 advantage in fast-break points.

Up next Both teams play Monday. Cleveland hosts the Los Angeles Clippers, and Detroit is at Minnesota in the opener of a three-game trip.

Regular Season Series

CLE wins series 3-1

Recent Plays

4th 0.0 End of Game 122 - 133
4th 0.0 End of the 4th Quarter 122 - 133
4th 4.2 Tim Hardaway Jr. bad pass (Sam Merrill steals) 122 - 133
4th 30.2 Tristan Thompson makes driving layup 122 - 133
4th 43.1 Dennis Schroder makes free throw 2 of 2 120 - 133

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nba/500/cle.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originCLE https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nba/500/det.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originDET
39-84 FG 44-92
46 Field Goal % 48
15-40 3PT 15-34
38 Three Point % 44
29-38 FT 30-35
76 Free Throw % 86
41 Rebounds 43
11 Offensive Rebounds 16
30 Defensive Rebounds 27
16 Assists 25
9 Steals 8
3 Blocks 5
14 Turnovers 13
1 Team Turnovers 0
15 Total Turnovers 13
1 Technical Fouls 0
1 Total Technical Fouls 0
0 Flagrant Fouls 0
17 Points Conceded Off Turnovers 14
6 Fast Break Points 25
44 Points in Paint 56
27 Fouls 29
6 Largest Lead 21
Detroit Pistons Detroit Pistons Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Isaac Jones, C Day-To-Day Dec 14
Cleveland Cavaliers Cleveland Cavaliers Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Luke Travers, F Day-To-Day Dec 14
Sam Merrill, G Out Dec 13
Max Strus, G Out Dec 13
Evan Mobley, C Out Dec 13
Larry Nance Jr., F Out Nov 30

Game Information

Little Caesars Arena

Location: Detroit, MI
Attendance: 20,062 · Capacity:

2025-26 Central Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Detroit 20 5 .800 - W3
Cleveland 15 11 .577 5.5 W1
Milwaukee 11 15 .423 9.5 W1
Chicago 10 14 .417 9.5 W1
Indiana 6 20 .231 14.5 L2
Full Standings

NBA News

Bagley's double-double helps Wizards snap 4-game skid with 108-89 win over Pacers

Bagley's double-double helps Wizards snap 4-game skid with 108-89 win over Pacers

— Marvin Bagley III scored a season-high 23 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, and CJ McCollum scored 18 points on Sunday as the Washington Wizards beat the Indiana Pacers 108-89 for their first...

Kristaps Porzingis sidelined at least 2 weeks with illness

Kristaps Porzingis sidelined at least 2 weeks with illness

Hawks center Kristaps Porzingis will miss the next two weeks and undergo further evaluations while dealing with a recent illness.

Kings steal win over United in another OT thriller

Kings steal win over United in another OT thriller

Melbourne United have lost another overtime battle against the travelling Sydney Kings, led once again by Kendric Davis (26 points).

Fantasy basketball picks, DFS and betting tips for Sunday's NBA games: Maxey's status looms large

Fantasy basketball picks, DFS and betting tips for Sunday's NBA games: Maxey's status looms large

Jim McCormick breaks down Sunday's NBA games and offers his top fantasy streamers as well as his favorite bets and DFS plays.

Thunder shrug off loss to Spurs, 'excited' to have challenge

Thunder shrug off loss to Spurs, 'excited' to have challenge

Far from despondent, the Thunder said Saturday's 111-109 loss to the Spurs was an "exciting" test and a chance for the team to grow from its mistakes.