March 3, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Detroit Pistons’ forward Duncan Robinson (55) defends Cleveland Cavaliers’ center Evan Mobley (4) in the first quarter at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Image Jaylon Tyson scored seven of his 22 points in the fourth quarter and James Harden finished with 18 points and seven assists as the host Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Eastern Conference-leading Detroit Pistons 113-109 on Tuesday night.
Evan Mobley scored 18 points and Dennis Schroder had 15 as the team won its season-high seventh straight home game. Craig Porter Jr. added seven points and eight rebounds off the bench as Cleveland improved to 22-8 since Dec. 29.
Jalen Duren had game-highs of 24 points and 14 rebounds, while fellow Pistons All-Star Cade Cunningham had 10 points and 14 assists. Detroit lost for the second time in its last 10 games, snapping a six-game winning streak.
Schroder hit a layup to give Cleveland its largest lead of the game at 94-83 with 10:16 left, but the Pistons rallied to within 104-103 on a Duran-from-Cunningham connection with 2:56 left.
After Ausar Thompson missed a potential 3-pointer for Detroit to tie the game with 1:31 left, Schroder and Harden used back-to-back baskets to give the Cavaliers breathing room at 112-105.
Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen scored eight points in 20 minutes before exiting the game with a right knee injury. All-Star shooting guard Donovan Mitchell (right groin sprain) missed his fourth straight game.
Tobias Harris scored all 19 of his points in the second half for Detroit. Isaiah Stewart had four points in his return from a seven-game NBA suspension for an on-court fight against the Charlotte Hornets on Feb. 9.
Harden was 5 of 17 from the field and Cunningham was 4 of 16 on field goal attempts. Both had five turnovers.
The Cavaliers lost to Allen early in the third quarter, but maintained an 89-80 advantage heading into the third quarter. Harris made 5 of 6 field goal attempts in the period, along with 1 field goal attempt and 6 of 7 free throw attempts.
Cleveland built its first double-digit lead at 48-38 with Sam Merrill’s 3-pointer in the middle of the second inning, and took a 54-48 lead into the break.
Cunningham scored 6 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists in Game 1, helping Detroit take a 27-25 lead. Harden scored seven points for the Cavaliers, who took a 9-2 lead and called Pistons coach JB Bickerstaff to call a timeout after just 150 seconds.
–Field level media
–Field level media
