Fantastic finish gets Cavaliers elusive road win, lead in series

DETROIT — The Cavaliers overcame a huge obstacle Wednesday by winning their first game on the road in the 2026 playoffs. It took a remarkable 30-point performance by James Harden, his high in the playoffs this postseason, to stun the Detroit Pistons 117-113 in overtime in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. Cleveland has a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series and can clinch Friday at Rocket Arena. The Cavs trailed by nine points with three minutes left in regulation and closed the fourth quarter on a stunning 9-0 run, seven by power forward Evan Mobley, to knot the score at 103 and send it into overtime. Once they got to the extra period, they outscored Detroit 14-10 to shock the sold-out crowd at Little Caesars Arena. "That was a battle-tested win," Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson said. As big as Game 5 was, winning the next game is just as important. "It's kind of a must-win game for us if we want to move forward," the coach said. "This will give us momentum. It's a great opportunity for this group." Atkinson implored one of his role players to step up in Game 5, and swingman Max Strus answered his plea. He was outstanding off the bench with 20 points, eight rebounds and one very huge steal with 2:32 remaining in overtime. Cavs guard Donovan Mitchell, 0-for-7 from the 3-point line after regulation, buried a huge shot from behind the arc to extend Cleveland's lead to 110-105. Strus then stole the ball from Pistons star Cade Cunningham and fed Mitchell for a layup. Suddenly, Cleveland was up by seven points. Atkinson labeled Strus' steal the play of the game. "That came out of nowhere," he said. "The crowd gasped. It was a huge play. He made so many winning plays for us." Strus was 6-for-8 from the 3-point line and spent some of the night trying to hound Cunningham, who led all scorers with 39 points, adding seven rebounds, nine assists and two steals. The Cavs are witnessing one of the bright, young stars in the league spread his wings. Strus, who missed the first 67 games of the regular season recovering from foot surgery, said it took "resiliency and grit" to upend the Pistons. "I tried to impact the game any way possible," he said. "We had to find a way to win by getting stops and rebounds. It wasn't our best night offensively. This was the first time getting one on the road. That was big." Up until Game 5, Cleveland was 0-5 on the road in the playoffs, 0-2 in Detroit. They realized they had to steal a game away from home in order to win the series. The Cavs won the rebounding battle 44-40, as center Jarrett Allen had a game-high 10 rebounds to go with 16 points and two blocks. Mobley also put forth a strong effort with 19 points, eight rebounds, eight assists, three blocks and a steal. Mitchell had a sluggish first half but rebounded to finish with 21 points and four rebounds. It paled in comparison to his 43-point effort in Game 4, but he still contributed heavily to the win. "He shot the ball with confidence," Atkinson said. "His skill level is so high. He doesn't shy away (from anything)." The Cleveland coach said Harden never got rattled, despite being pressured by Pistons ballhawk Ausar Thompson and turning the ball over six times. Harden finished with eight rebounds, six assists, three blocks and one steal. The 36-year-old also played a team-high 43 minutes. "He never wavered," Atkinson said. "Good game, bad game. He's seen so many of these games. He's a heck of a leader. "James made a lot of savvy plays in the fourth quarter and overtime. He really understands the moment. Listen: It's a big reason we got him. That's what we expected. (He added) maturity and poise to our group, which we needed." The Cavs had a chance to win the game at the end of regulation, but Mitchell had the ball stripped as he went up to shoot. Cleveland had a timeout to set up a play, but Atkinson said he didn't want Detroit set up its defense. "We wanted something in the flow," he said. Harden, 11-for-14 from the foul line, missed a free throw with 24.4 seconds left in overtime but somehow grabbed the offensive rebound. That led to two more free throws and a 115-111 advantage. "The Beard" credited "luck" on the play. "I'm a 90-some percent (foul shooter)," he said. "You've got to make your free throws." The Detroit crowd started an expletive-filled chant at Harden in the late going, but he said he didn't hear it. Guard Danniss Jenkins, starting for the injured Duncan Robinson, added 19 points for the Pistons, while forward Tobias Harris had 13. Detroit opened up a 60-52 lead at halftime, as Cunningham had 19 points. Bob Finnan can be reached at rfinnan30@gmail.com. Follow him @BobCavsinsider on X. Cavaliers 117, Pistons 113 (OT) CLEVELAND (117): Mobley 6-13 5-6 19, Wade 0-0 0-0 0, Allen 6-10 4-5 16, Harden 8-21 11-14 30, Mitchell 7-18 6-6 21, Strus 6-8 2-2 20, Tyson 0-1 0-0 0, Merrill 2-5 0-0 6, Schroder 1-4 3-5 5. Totals 36-80 31-38 117. DETROIT (113): Harris 6-19 0-0 13, Thompson 2-6 2-2 6, Duren 3-5 3-4 9, Cunningham 13-27 7-8 39, Jenkins 8-17 1-1 19, Reed 4-7 2-2 10, Stewart 3-5 0-0 8, Huerter 0-0 0-0 0, LeVert 2-7 3-3 7, Sasser 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 42-95 18-20 113. Cleveland&emsp;27&emsp;25&emsp;32&emsp;19&emsp;14&emsp;—&emsp;117Detroit&emsp;29&emsp;31&emsp;20&emsp;23&emsp;10&emsp;—&emsp;113 3-Point Goals—Cleveland 14-35 (Strus 6-8, Harden 3-10, Mobley 2-3, Merrill 2-5, Mitchell 1-8, Schroder 0-1), Detroit 11-33 (Cunningham 6-10, Stewart 2-3, Jenkins 2-8, Harris 1-7, Sasser 0-1, Thompson 0-1, LeVert 0-3). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Cleveland 44 (Allen 10), Detroit 40 (Reed 8). Assists—Cleveland 25 (Mobley 8), Detroit 28 (Cunningham 9). Total Fouls—Cleveland 16, Detroit 26. A—20,062 (20,491).