James Harden comes up huge in the clutch as Cavaliers hold off Pistons for Game 3 win

CLEVELAND — In the words of noted philosopher Kenny Atkinson, "It's on." The Cavaliers clawed back in their best-of-seven playoff series with a nail-biting 116-109 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Saturday at Rocket Arena. Cleveland trails the Pistons 2-1 in the Eastern Conference semifinals, with Game 4 scheduled for Monday. Before the game, Atkinson spoke these words of wisdom. "I think we look at it positively," he said. "We get this one and it's like, it's on. Let's go and get this one. We're at home. We were there and I don't think we played great. Let's play great. Let's get this one." Cavs guard Donovan Mitchell led all scorers with 35 points, adding 10 rebounds and four assists. However, it was 36-year-old James Harden who scored seven points in the last 1:29, including a huge step-back 3-pointer with 25 seconds left to hand Cleveland a 113-109 advantage. He rebounded from two poor performances in Detroit with 19 points, seven assists and three turnovers in 40 minutes. Evidently, he isn't washed up after all. "I love it," Harden said. "My number was called. I have the confidence to go out there and do it. If you put me in a position to be successful, good things will happen." The 11-time All-Star went 8-for-14 from the field and 3-for-7 from the 3-point line. Harden said sometimes it's not easy playing with a superstar like Mitchell, who finished 13-for-24 from the floor. "Coming to a team that has a superstar, you have to find opportunities when you can be aggressive," he said. "It's not an easy challenge." Harden compared it to Boston's Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. The Cavs were cruising with a 17-point lead in the third quarter. Then the Pistons embarked on a staggering 18-2 run to take the lead. Detroit outscored Cleveland 33-19 in the third quarter, but the Cavs held onto an 83-81 advantage heading into the final period. They took the lead for good at 106-104 when swingman Max Strus stole the inbounds pass by Detroit's Cade Cunningham with 2:28 remaining and scored on a layup. Center Jarrett Allen contributed 18 points, four rebounds and two blocks, while power forward Evan Mobley added 13 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two blocks. He battled foul trouble in the second half and Atkinson sent him back in the game with five fouls. "That's always a tough call," the coach said. "Tonight, we had to take some risks. We had to go for this. He kept his aggressiveness up." Cunningham flirted with a quadruple-double, as he finished with a team-high 27 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists and eight turnovers. Forward Tobias Harris added 21 points for Detroit. The Pistons thumped Cleveland on the boards, winning the rebounding battle 40-33, including a 17-5 edge on the offensive glass. "It's hard to win with that kind of disparity," Atkinson said. "Our big guys were down there wrestling their big guys." The Cavs coach threw caution to the wind and went off script as far as his rotations. "Screw the rotations," Atkinson said. "We put the best players on the floor. We'll strategize it. We'll probably keep the minutes up." Harden, the oldest player on the court, played a game-high 40 minutes, while Mitchell played 38 and Mobley 36. Cleveland's reserves outscored the Pistons bench 28-26, as guard Dennis Schroder was effective with 11 points and two blocks. The Cavs shot a blistering .581 from the field and .375 from the 3-point line. Atkinson was impressed with his starting point guard. "That's the James Harden we know," he said. "We needed it. We were searching. He went to work. "We knew how important it was to get this win." Bob Finnan can be reached at rfinnan30@gmail.com. Follow him @BobCavsinsider on X. Cavaliers 116, Pistons 109 DETROIT (109): Harris 7-14 5-5 21, Thompson 4-10 1-2 9, Duren 5-8 1-2 11, Cunningham 10-27 5-6 27, Robinson 5-9 1-2 15, Holland II 0-0 0-0 0, Reed 4-4 3-3 11, Stewart 2-3 0-0 4, Green 1-5 0-0 3, Jenkins 1-5 0-0 2, LeVert 2-6 2-2 6. Totals 41-91 18-22 109. CLEVELAND (116): Mobley 4-6 5-10 13, Wade 1-2 0-0 3, Allen 7-9 4-7 18, Harden 8-14 0-1 19, Mitchell 13-24 7-8 35, Strus 3-7 0-0 7, Tyson 1-3 0-0 3, Merrill 2-4 2-2 7, Schroder 4-5 0-0 11. Totals 43-74 18-28 116. Detroit&emsp;30&emsp;18&emsp;33&emsp;28&emsp;—&emsp;109Cleveland&emsp;32&emsp;32&emsp;19&emsp;33&emsp;—&emsp;116 3-Point Goals—Detroit 9-25 (Robinson 4-7, Harris 2-3, Cunningham 2-6, Green 1-4, Thompson 0-2, Jenkins 0-3), Cleveland 12-32 (Schroder 3-3, Harden 3-7, Mitchell 2-8, Wade 1-2, Merrill 1-3, Tyson 1-3, Strus 1-4, Mobley 0-2). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Detroit 40 (Cunningham 10), Cleveland 33 (Mitchell 10). Assists—Detroit 23 (Cunningham 10), Cleveland 22 (Harden 7). Total Fouls—Detroit 25, Cleveland 17. A—19,432 (19,432)