Cleveland beats Pistons 117-113

Cleveland moved within one win of the Eastern Conference finals after a 117-113 overtime victory over Detroit in Game 5 on Wednesday, May 13. The Cavaliers won on the road at Little Caesars Arena to take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven semifinal series. (statmuse.com) James Harden scored 30 points, according to ESPN, and Cleveland recorded its first road win of the 2026 playoffs. (sports.yahoo.com) The result flipped a series that had opened with two Detroit home wins before Cleveland responded with two victories at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. StatMuse’s game log shows Detroit won Games 1 and 2 by scores of 111-101 and 107-97, while Cleveland took Games 3 and 4 by 116-109 and 112-103 before the overtime result in Game 5. (statmuse.com) ### How did Cleveland change the shape of the series? Wednesday’s result gave Cleveland its third straight win after falling behind 2-0 in the matchup. The Cavaliers entered the second round as the lower-seeded team in this series, with Detroit having finished the regular season 60-22 and Cleveland 52-30, according to StatMuse. (sports.yahoo.com) The 3-2 lead also put pressure back on Detroit after the Pistons protected home court in the first two games. Cleveland had not won a road playoff game in 2026 before Game 5, ESPN reported. (statmuse.com) ### Why does Harden’s 30-point night stand out? James Harden’s 30 points were the top individual scoring figure attached to Cleveland’s comeback in ESPN’s report on the game. In a series that has also featured heavy scoring from Detroit’s Cade Cunningham, Cleveland got its biggest named offensive line from Harden in its most important road game of the postseason. (statmuse.com) StatMuse lists Harden among the postseason leaders in fantasy production and shows Cunningham averaging 30.0 points in the playoffs entering Friday. That context underscores how central the backcourt matchup has been through five games, though neither team has closed the series. (sports.yahoo.com) ### What do the first five games say about this matchup? Five games have been decided by 10 points or fewer except Detroit’s 10-point win in Game 1, and the scoring has stayed in a narrow band. StatMuse shows Detroit scoring 111, 107, 109, 103 and 113 points in the series, while Cleveland scored 101, 97, 116, 112 and 117. (sports.yahoo.com) The overtime finish in Game 5 was the first extra-period game of the series. Detroit shot 90.0% from the free-throw line in the loss, according to StatMuse, but still dropped the game after Cleveland extended the contest and finished the comeback. (statmuse.com) ### What is next in Game 6? Friday, May 15, is the next scheduled game, with Detroit traveling to Cleveland for Game 6 at 7 p.m. Eastern time. A Falcons Wire schedule item published ahead of the game said the matchup would be played at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, and StatMuse’s schedule listing shows the same date and venue setup. (statmuse.com) A Cleveland win on Friday would end the series in six games, while a Detroit victory would force Game 7 on Sunday, May 17, back in Detroit. (statmuse.com) StatMuse lists that potential Game 7 for 1 p.m. Eastern time. (thefalconswire.usatoday.com)