Cavaliers embarrassed, blow chance at home to win series

CLEVELAND — With 6:07 remaining in the game, Cavaliers forward Dean Wade slipped on a wet spot and landed on his rear end. Throughout the night the Cavaliers crashed to the ground as the Pistons pushed them around consistently. Simply put, the Cavaliers fell flat Friday in Game 6. Having a chance to punch their ticket to the Eastern Conference finals, the Cavs succumbed to the pressure and were totally outclassed by the Detroit Pistons 115-94 at Rocket Arena. The best-of-seven series is tied at 3 and will head back to Detroit on Sunday for Game 7. "We have to find a way to play with more force," Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson said. "We had two shots at this. Beating a team that won 60 games during the regular season four times in a row is supposed to be hard. It's not going to be easy." The Cavs were outplayed in almost every facet of the game. The thing that really plagued them was turning the ball over 19 times. Harden said Cleveland never played at the intensity level needed to win the game. The Cavs were outrebounded 43-40 and dished out just 15 assists to Detroit's 25. The Pistons shot .524 from the field and .444 from the 3-point line, compared to Cleveland's .385 from the floor and .343 from long distance. "They were the most aggressive team," Atkinson said. "It was very clear." Cavs power forward Evan Mobley had a large scratch down the side of his face, courtesy of Pistons guard Caris LeVert in Game 5. Then Cleveland swingman Sam Merrill was hit in the throat Friday and knocked to the floor by Detroit's Ausar Thompson with 8:04 remaining in the second quarter. Thompson, who later fouled out, was assessed a flagrant-1 foul. Some thought he should have been ejected for the hard foul. "That's how the series has been going," Mobley said. Harden led all scorers with 23 points and added seven rebounds, four assists and four steals. However, his night was marred by eight turnovers. Guard Donovan Mitchell shot just 6-for-20 from the field and ended with 18 points. "I've been making shots in the series, but tonight I didn't," Mitchell said. "You can't dwell on it. "We missed an opportunity. We can't do anything about it. We got hit in the mouth and didn't hit back. Nothing good comes easy. It's going to take every bit of energy (to win Game 7). At the end of the day, we have to give it all we've got." Mobley added 18 points, six rebounds and two blocks, while center Jarrett Allen had 13 points, eight rebounds and one block. Merrill contributed 10 points off the bench. However, Detroit's reserves outscored Cleveland's 48-19. Pistons guard Cade Cunningham fired in 21 points and added eight assists and seven turnovers. Center Jalen Duren came alive for the first time in the series with 15 points, a game-high 11 rebounds and three blocks. Forward Paul Reed was lethal off the bench with 17 points and six rebounds, and Duncan Robinson knocked down four of seven shots from long distance for 14 points. Harden (4,167) passed Stephen Curry (4,147) for 10th place on the NBA's all-time postseason scoring list. He said Game 7 boils down to one thing. "It's one game on the road," Harden said. "It really is just one game." The Cavs won Game 7 of their first-round series against the Toronto Raptors in Cleveland. "We've been here before," Mobley said. "We know what we have to do. We have to play with energy and force. We have to play our brand of basketball. "We have to bring it and leave it all out there." Harden said Cleveland's defense has to be "priority No. 1." "We have to hang our hats on the defensive end," he said. "We feed off our defense." Bob Finnan can be reached at rfinnan30@gmail.com. Follow him @BobCavsinsider on X. Pistons 115, Cavaliers 94 DETROIT (115): Harris 2-7 2-2 6, Thompson 4-6 2-3 10, Duren 7-10 1-4 15, Cunningham 7-19 2-2 21, Jenkins 5-11 2-2 15, Holland II 0-0 0-0 0, Reed 7-9 2-3 17, Robinson 4-7 2-3 14, Smith 0-0 0-0 0, Stewart 0-1 0-0 0, Lanier 0-0 0-0 0, LeVert 3-7 0-0 8, Sasser 4-5 0-0 9. Totals 43-82 13-19 115. CLEVELAND (94): Mobley 6-14 4-8 18, Wade 1-2 0-0 3, Allen 5-6 3-4 13, Harden 6-13 8-10 23, Mitchell 6-20 4-4 18, Tomlin 0-0 1-2 1, Bryant 0-2 0-0 0, Strus 2-9 0-0 6, Tyson 1-1 0-0 2, Ellis 0-0 0-0 0, Merrill 3-6 2-2 10, Porter Jr. 0-0 0-0 0, Schroder 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 30-77 22-30 94. Detroit&emsp;27&emsp;27&emsp;30&emsp;31&emsp;—&emsp;115Cleveland&emsp;25&emsp;26&emsp;19&emsp;24&emsp;—&emsp;94 3-Point Goals—Detroit 16-36 (Cunningham 5-10, Robinson 4-7, Jenkins 3-7, LeVert 2-5, Reed 1-1, Sasser 1-2, Stewart 0-1, Thompson 0-1, Harris 0-2), Cleveland 12-35 (Harden 3-8, Merrill 2-5, Mobley 2-5, Mitchell 2-6, Strus 2-7, Wade 1-2, Bryant 0-1, Schroder 0-1). Fouled Out—Detroit 1 (Thompson), Cleveland None. Rebounds—Detroit 43 (Duren 11), Cleveland 40 (Allen, Strus 8). Assists—Detroit 25 (Cunningham 8), Cleveland 15 (Harden 4). Total Fouls—Detroit 22, Cleveland 18. A—19,432 (19,432)