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Pistons finally beat Cavs when it counts

By LARRY LAGE 6 min read

DETROIT (AP) -- Cade Cunningham scored 23 points, Tobias Harris had 20 and the Detroit Pistons beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 111-101 on Tuesday night in Game 1 of their second-round series.

Duncan Robinson added 19 points for the top-seeded Pistons, who ended an NBA record-tying 12-game postseason losing streak against a single opponent, a drought that dated to the 2007 Eastern Conference finals.

Game 2 is Thursday night in Detroit.

Cleveland's Donovan Mitchell scored 23 points, ending his NBA-record streak of scoring 30-plus points in nine straight series openers.

James Harden had 22 points and Max Strus scored 19 for the No. 4-seeded Cavs, who pulled into a tie midway through the fourth quarter after trailing for most of the night and by as much as 18 points.

Cleveland center Jarrett Allen was limited to two points and three rebounds, coming off a 22-point, 19-rebound performance in an elimination game against Toronto.

Two days after both teams won a Game 7, the Pistons started strong and led 37-31 after a quarter. Detroit took a 59-46 lead into the second half, when the cushion was no longer comfortable.

Cleveland pulled within three points late in the third and Ron Holland hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to end the quarter and put the Pistons up 83-76.

After the Cavs cut their deficit to three again early in the fourth, the Pistons responded with eight consecutive points to restore a double-digit lead.

Cleveland, though, wouldn't go away.

Harden, playing the Pistons for the first time since Cleveland acquired him, scored seven straight points to pull the Cavs into a 93-all tie with 5:28 left.

Jalen Duren blocked Harden's next shot and dunked on Detroit's next three possessions -- each off Cunningham assists.

The Pistons won the Central Division this year by eight games ahead of the defending champion Cavs, splitting four games during the regular season.

Detroit earned 60 victories and the top seed in the East just two years after losing 68 games and setting a single-season NBA record with 28 straight losses.

The Pistons rallied from a 3-1 deficit in the first round against Orlando to advance in the playoffs for the first time since 2008.

Cleveland outlasted Toronto in seven games to reach the second round for the third straight year, a run that started with Bickerstaff, who was fired by the Cavs and hired a month later by the Pistons.

Duren delivers

DETROIT (AP) -- Jalen Duren delivered for the Detroit Pistons when they needed him most, making plays at both ends of the court against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Duren had three dunks, two rebounds and a block in a 67-second stretch to break open a tie game and Detroit went on to beat Cleveland 111-101 on Tuesday night in Game 1 of their second-round series.

"I'm not a one-dimensional player," said Duren, who finished with 11 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and two blocks. "I add so many different things to this team. My main job is to protect the rim and dominate the paint.

"I try to do that night in, night out."

In the first round against Orlando, he came up short of his goals until Game 7.

Duren averaged nearly 20 points and 10-plus rebounds during the regular season as a first-time All-Star, but didn't score more than 12 points or reach double digits in rebounds until the elimination game.

To close a comeback from a 3-1 deficit, he had 15 points and 15 rebounds to send the Magic home and help the Pistons advance in the NBA playoffs for the first time since 2008.

Duren acknowledged he learned a lot in the previous series.

"My value is on the defensive end," he said. "My value is crashing the glass. It doesn't always have to be scoring for me."

James Harden's scoring helped the Cavs rally from an 18-point deficit in the first quarter to pull into a 93-all tie with 5:28 remaining.

Harden had a chance to put Cleveland ahead for the first time since the opening minutes, but his 8-foot floater was blocked by Duren, who corralled the rebound.

He dunked on the next three possessions -- each off Cade Cunningham's assists -- and another defensive rebound and the win was sealed with a 12-3 run.

"I thought he was awesome," Pistons guard Duncan Robinson said. "People obviously want to get caught up in that last line of the box score (points) with him. He does so much for us, and he's really the anchor of our identity."

Duren played a part in limiting Cleveland center Jarrett Allen to two points and three rebounds, after he had 22 points and 19 rebounds in Game 7 against Toronto.

"If our frontcourt continues to outplay their frontcourt, we'll be in a good spot in the series," Duren said.

Thunder strike

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Chet Holmgren had 24 points and 12 rebounds, and the Oklahoma City Thunder routed the Los Angeles Lakers 108-90 on Tuesday night in Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinal series.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Ajay Mitchell each added 18 points for the Thunder. The defending champions improved to 5-0 in the playoffs, despite missing 2025 All-Star Jalen Williams with an injured left hamstring for the third straight game. The Thunder shot 49.4% from the field and made 13 of 30 3-pointers.

Oklahoma City will host Game 2 on Thursday.

Los Angeles struggled to find offense without scoring champion Luka Doncic, who has missed the past month with an injured left hamstring. LeBron James scored 27 points and Rui Hachimura added 18 for the Lakers. Austin Reaves, who averaged 23.3 points in the regular season, was held to eight on 3-for-16 shooting.

Oklahoma City won all four regular-season matchups by an average of 29.3 points.

, and this one was only slightly closer. The Thunder held the Lakers to 41.7% shooting and forced 17 turnovers.

The Lakers ran out to a 7-0 lead, with James scoring five of the points. Eventually, the Thunder shook off the rust from an eight-day break and went up 31-26 at the end of the first quarter, despite 12 points from James.

Holmgren's two-handed alley-oop dunk on a lob from Isaiah Hartenstein put the Thunder up 48-39. Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt injured the pinkie finger on his right hand on the play, left the game and did not return.

Oklahoma City led 61-53 at halftime, despite 16 points from James.

Mitchell, who started in Williams' place, made a corner 3-pointer and was fouled by Marcus Smart in the final minute of the third quarter. His free throw put the Thunder up 84-72, a score that held up until the end of the period.

Alex Caruso's fast-break dunk early in the fourth put Oklahoma City up 88-73, and the Thunder maintained control from there.

Starting at /week.