Cavs rally for OT win, head home with 3-2 lead

DETROIT — The Cleveland Cavaliers rallied back from a nine-point deficit with less than three minutes remaining in regulation, then defeated the Detroit Pistons 117-113 in overtime to take a 3-2 series lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals Wednesday night.

Cleveland, which had been 0-5 on the road this postseason, trailed 103-94 before finishing the fourth quarter on a 9-0 run to force overtime.

“That stretch right there says a lot about our progress,” Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said. “[Our] mental toughness progress … these guys, they never get down.”

According to ESPN Analytics, Detroit had a 96.8% chance to win when it went up by nine late in regulation, but Cleveland finished the game on a 23-10 run.

“Just the mental fortitude,” Cavs star Donovan Mitchell said. “Being able to understand, like I always talk about, you have something to pull from. You have a situation in Games 1 and 2 where you find — we’ve been here before.”

James Harden finished with 30 points and six assists in his best playoff scoring performance with the Cavs. Max Strus added 20 points and eight rebounds off the bench. And Mitchell scored seven of his 21 points in overtime.

“Resiliency, grit, take everything we had,” Strus said. “It wasn’t our best night offensively, but I think that’s what speaks volumes to getting this win, was we found a way.”

Cleveland now has an opportunity to finish the best-of-seven series at home Friday night. A win then — or in a potential Game 7 in Detroit on Sunday — would put the Cavs in the Eastern Conference finals against the New York Knicks.

For the Pistons, facing elimination is not new. They trailed 3-1 in the first round against the Orlando Magic before rallying to win the series.

“The biggest thing is just not get too high, get too low,” said Mitchell, who has never made the conference finals. “At the end of the day, it’s 3-2. The series is not over by any means. It was great to get one on the road. Yay, whoop-de-do. But we got to protect home court.”

Prior to Wednesday’s game, Atkinson noted how, perhaps, the Cavs would need a role player to step up if the team was to win its first game on the road against the top-seeded Pistons. Enter Strus, who knocked down six 3-pointers and ratcheted up the defense on Pistons star Cade Cunningham in the fourth quarter and overtime. Cunningham was brilliant for most of Game 5, scoring 39 points to go with nine assists and carrying a Pistons offense missing Duncan Robinson (sore back) and getting another ineffective game from Jalen Duren (nine points, five rebounds). But when matched up against Strus in the fourth quarter and overtime, Cunningham went 1-of-4 for two points, according to ESPN Research.

“I don’t know if there’s necessarily one word,” Harden said when describing Strus’ impact. “One night he might have five points, but I think the things that he’s doing doesn’t necessarily show up on a stat sheet across the board. … He finds another level to go out there and compete at a high level and then turn around offensively and make shots. So he’s a guy that you can plug and play anywhere, and he’s going to be effective in the game. And he showed up big time tonight.”

And after a disastrous first two games of the series, Harden has also shown up for the Cavs, displaying the kind of poise and contributions that made Cleveland acquire him at the trade deadline. He also had eight rebounds and three blocks.

Cleveland became the sixth franchise with whom Harden has recorded a 30-point playoff game (Thunder, Rockets, Nets, 76ers and Clippers). According to ESPN Research, no other player has done so with five.

“This is new for me,” Harden said after the game. “I’ve only been here 2½ months, you know what I mean? So, the things that we were going through is all new. Learning how to be a second option and feed and play off Donovan, when to be aggressive when he has it going. Last game, second half, he did some things that we haven’t seen in a very, very long time. And he’s capable of doing that every single game.

“So, finding when to be aggressive, wanting to be a playmaker and things like that. And then offensively finding what works for us. For me, to be successful, to get guys shots and open looks. I think we’re building in the right direction. And throughout that process, there’s going to be sometimes where we don’t look as great, but I think overall we all have the right mindset of wanting to help each other do better.”