Pistons take 2-0 East semifinal lead, top Cavaliers 107-97 in Game 2

Detroit has done the hard part twice now. The Pistons didn’t just protect home court in Game 2 — they beat Cleveland 107-97, grabbed a 2-0 lead in the Easte(espn.com)at was supposed to be chasing. That’s the real shift here. Cleveland came in as a dangerous second-round opponent, but through tw(espn.com)stons group that keeps owning the biggest moments. (espn.com) ### How did Detroi(espn.com)erased the gap and pulled even at 93-93. But that was basically the last clean moment the Cavaliers had. Detroit closed the final five minutes on an 18-8 run, and Cunningham was at the center of it — scoring, creating, and slowing the game down exactly when it could have flipped. (detroitnews.com) ### What did Cunningha(espn.com)ich is the headline stat line, but the bigger thing was timing. NBA.com’s takeaway noted that 12 of his 25 came in the fourth quarter. That’s why this didn’t feel like empty star production. Detroit needed a closer, and Cunningham gave them one. (espn.com) ### Who else carried Detroit? Tobias Harris added 21 (detroitnews.com)m bends the defense, then Detroit has enough secondary scoring to punish the help. The box score also shows a pretty even team effort rather than one nuclear shooting night that probably won’t repeat. (espn.com) ### What did Cleveland get right? Donovan Mitchell kept them alive (espn.com)er to make the game feel winnable again. The problem is that “winnable” and “won” are very different things in the playoffs, and Detroit has been much sharper at the possession-by-possession stuff late. Once the game tightened, Cleveland’s margin for error disappeared fast. (nba.com) ### Why does 2-0 matter so much? Because the series is changing zip codes(espn.com)he Cavaliers are suddenly playing for air. A 2-0 deficit is manageable in theory, but 3-0 is basically the cliff. Detroit doesn’t need to panic or reinvent anything. Cleveland does. (usatoday.com) ### Is this just a hot streak? Maybe partly — but not mostly. Detroit has(nba.com)istent: defend, stay organized, then trust Cunningham late. That’s different from stealing one game on shot luck. The Pistons were also the No. 1 seed in this matchup, so this isn’t some random underdog heater. It looks more like a young team realizing it can control a series. (nba.com)en Detroit starts switching everything and shrinking the floor?” way. Mitchell can score, but Cleveland needs cleaner possessions around him. Otherwise every close game turns into Cunningham dictating pace while the Cavaliers scramble. That’s not a talent gap. It’s a control gap. (nba.com) ### Bottom line Detroit hasn’t just won two games. T(nba.com) their terms. Now Cleveland goes home needing urgency, while Detroit goes in looking like the team with the map. (espn.com)