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
Tolu Smith, F Day-To-Day Feb 20
Isaiah Stewart, F Suspension Feb 11
Cleveland Cavaliers Cleveland Cavaliers Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Evan Mobley, C Day-To-Day Feb 20
Max Strus, G Out Feb 18

Game Information

Little Caesars Arena

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

2025-26 Central Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Detroit 41 13 .759 - W4
Cleveland 36 21 .632 6.5 W7
Milwaukee 24 30 .444 17 W3
Chicago 24 32 .429 18 L7
Indiana 15 42 .263 27.5 L2
Full Standings

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