Cleveland defeats Detroit 117-113 OT

The Cleveland Cavaliers left Detroit with their first road win of the 2026 postseason after a 117-113 overtime victory over the Pistons on Wednesday, May 13. Cleveland trailed 103-94 with a little more than two minutes left in regulation before forcing overtime and moving ahead 3-2 in the Eastern Conference semifinal series. James Harden scored 30 points for the Cavaliers, and Donovan Mitchell added 21. Cade Cunningham finished with 39 points and nine assists for Detroit. ### How did Cleveland get back into the game so late? Detroit led by 9 points, 103-94, with just over two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, according to the NBA game summary. Cleveland answered by closing regulation on a 9-0 push, tying the game at 103 on Evan Mobley’s free throws with 45.2 seconds left. The Cavaliers then carried that surge into overtime. (nba.com) Cleveland put together a 13-0 run spanning the end of regulation and the start of the extra period, while Detroit went scoreless for five minutes from late in the fourth quarter to midway through overtime, the NBA recap said. ### Which players decided Game 5? James Harden scored a playoff-best 30 points for Cleveland, the NBA and AP recaps said. (nba.com) Donovan Mitchell added 21 points, including seven in overtime, and Max Strus scored 20 off the bench. Cade Cunningham kept Detroit in front for most of the night with 39 points and nine assists. Cunningham cut the deficit to two points with 25 seconds left in overtime, but Cleveland answered at the foul line to finish the game. (nba.com) Jarrett Allen also figured in the closing sequence. Harden made one free throw, rebounded his own missed second attempt and then added another free throw to help seal the result, according to the NBA recap. (nba.com) ### What did the coaches say about the finish? Kenny Atkinson, Cleveland’s coach, pointed to the comeback as evidence of his team’s composure. “That stretch right there says a lot about our progress - mental performance progress and mental toughness progress,” Atkinson said, according to the NBA game summary. (nba.com) J.B. Bickerstaff, Detroit’s coach, focused on the no-call just before the end of regulation. “He fouled Ausar - clearly,” Bickerstaff said of a loose-ball sequence involving Cleveland’s Jarrett Allen and Detroit’s Ausar Thompson, according to the same recap. “He tripped him when he was going for a loose ball.” (nba.com) ### How big is the swing in the series? (nba.com) Wednesday’s result gave Cleveland a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series after the Cavaliers had been down 2-0 earlier in the matchup. The NBA schedule page lists Game 5 as a Cleveland win in overtime and shows the series shifting back to Ohio for Game 6. The road result also mattered for Cleveland because it was the club’s first away win of this postseason, according to the preliminary game coverage and the official series page showing the Cavaliers’ earlier results. (nba.com) Cleveland had won Games 3 and 4 at home before taking Game 5 in Detroit. ### What comes next in the series? Game 6 is scheduled for Friday, May 15, at 7 p.m. (nba.com) ET in Cleveland, according to NBA.com’s series page. If Detroit wins, Game 7 is set for Sunday, May 17, back in Detroit. The NBA bracket on the official game page says the winner of the series will face the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference finals. (nba.com) Detroit now needs a road win in Game 6 to extend the series, while Cleveland has two chances left to advance.