Cavaliers One Win Away From Eastern Conference Finals After Stunning Rally

The Cleveland Cavaliers have ended their cold streak, winning their first road game of the postseason in overtime, 117-113.

With just 2:40 seconds remaining, the Cavs found themselves down 103-94. Detroit had a 98% chance to win up until this point.

After a massive third quarter, it felt like Cleveland was letting another opportunity slip through their fingers. They were going to lose their sixth straight road game to start the postseason, but they pulled off the miraculous comeback.

Evan Mobley has dealt with a ton of fair criticisms this playoffs, but he willed Cleveland back into this game with a personal 7-0 run to cut into their lead. They had a fantastic opportunity to win the game in regulation, but that’s when the game got weird.

Cleveland had two timeouts remaining with 21.7 seconds on the clock, and didn’t manage even to get a shot off. Donovan Mitchell had his worst game of the series and dribbled out a prime opportunity to win this game in regulation.

Also, after the turnover, Jarett Allen and Ausar Thompson collided while going for the loose ball, and it appears Allen may have tripped Thompson, but no foul was called.

The officiating has been the talk of this series, with an inconsistent whistle from game to game, and Detroit may have been robbed in this game. Of course, you still can’t blow a lead like that in the 4th quarter on your home court.

Moving forward in this series, the Pistons might need to make a change at center. Paul Reed didn’t see the court until the fourth quarter, where he totaled 10 points and 8 rebounds. Isaiah Stewart also dropped eight points and 2 rebounds and was a team-high +12.

Jalen Duren, on the other hand, was a team low -16 and seemed borderline unplayable at some points. He has completely lost any confidence he did have and ruined what was Cade Cunningham’s best game of this series.

For the Cavs, this game shows why you trade for a guy like James Harden. If you can look past his occasional horrific playoff showings, he still can take over on a nightly basis. The turnovers were still a problem, and it wasn’t his most efficient night, but he still found a way to score a huge 30 points and stole a massive extra rebound to seal the game in OT.

However, Max Strus was the MVP for Cleveland tonight. He made 6 shots, all from deep, and was once again the most energetic player on the court for Cleveland. He had to spend a ton of time guarding Cunningham, had a game-changing steal in OT, and provided massive spacing for the two-man game between Allen and Mobley.

It’ll be interesting to see if Detroit can get up off the mat after this one. 

They’ve struggled on the road in Cleveland and blew their chance to put all of the pressure on the Cavs. I think that might’ve been the last game we see in Detroit this season. I expect Cleveland to reach the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in the Donovan Mitchell era.