Donovan Mitchell ties playoff record with 39 in second half as Cavaliers even series

CLEVELAND — Donovan Mitchell was almost nonexistent in the first half. That led to a historic second half when the Cavaliers guard scored 39 of his game-high 43 points to power Cleveland to a 112-103 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Monday in Game 4 of their best-of-seven series. The Cavs knotted the Eastern Conference semifinal series at two games apiece heading into Game 5 in Detroit on Wednesday. If Cleveland is to win this series, it will have to steal a game on the road — something it has yet to do in the 2026 playoffs. The Cavs started the third quarter with a Cavalanche, as they scored the first 22 points. When the decisive third quarter ended, Cleveland outscored the Pistons 38-21, as Mitchell matched Detroit's total with 21 points. Mitchell's 39 points in the second half tied an NBA record for most points in any half of a postseason game, set in 1987 by Golden State's Eric "Sleepy" Floyd. The Cavs guard missed a free throw that would have given him the record. "It was an incredible performance," coach Kenny Atkinson said. "He was getting in the open court." He said Mitchell was not in rhythm in the first half. "That happens," Atkinson said. "He had the mental fortitude to turn that around. It was quite a shift. It was pretty impressive." He finished 13-for-26 from the field, 4-for-12 from behind the arc. All that after four points in the first half when he went just 1-for-8 from the floor. "I wasn't getting downhill like in Game 3," Mitchell said. "I was not tripping on the fact that I was 1-for-whatever." Cleveland point guard James Harden got the team off to a good start with 11 points in the first quarter and finished with 24 points, a game-high 11 assists and four steals. He had just two turnovers in 37 minutes. Atkinson has been talking for two days about his team creating doubt in the minds of the Pistons. He thought they were acting just a tad bit cocky, even after Cleveland's victory in Game 3. After Game 4, perhaps some uncertainty has crept into Detroit's collective mindset. Cleveland opened a 90-77 bulge after three quarters and it wasn't until Atkinson cleared the bench that the Pistons made the score respectable. The Cavs coach marveled at the strong defensive showing by power forward Evan Mobley, who finished with 17 points, eight rebounds, five assists, five blocks and three steals. "Donovan will be getting all the flowers, but Evan deserves just as many," Atkinson said. "He was swatting everything. It was maybe the best I've seen Evan and that's saying something. That was the Defensive Player of the Year. He was everywhere." Mitchell said the team fed off Mobley's energy. "He's been getting progressively better each game," he said. "He's doing it in every facet of the game. He was huge." The Pistons were held scoreless for the first 6:03 of the third quarter. Backup forward Paul Reed broke the scoring drought with a dunk at the 5:57 mark. Former Cavs guard Caris LeVert was questionable for the game with a right heel contusion. He played and finished with a team-high 24 points. Point guard Cade Cunningham added 19 points, six assists and five turnovers. He's turned the ball over 13 times in the last two games. Every time Cunningham ventures into the lane, Cleveland center Jarrett Allen said someone is banging into him. Cunningham is the sole focus of the Cavs defense. If someone else on the Pistons is going to beat them, so be it. But they don't want it to be Cunningham. "It's a different story now at 2-2," Atkinson said. "Game 5 is going to be tough. We gained some confidence tonight. We figured some things out." Bob Finnan can be reached at rfinnan30@gmail.com. Follow him @BobCavsinsider on X.