Pistons lead Cavaliers halftime

Detroit led Cleveland 60-52 at halftime of Game 5 on Wednesday night, with Cade Cunningham scoring 20 points and the Pistons building their edge through transition chances and Cavaliers turnovers. NBA.com’s live game tracker said Detroit held a 20-2 advantage in points off turnovers by the break, after forcing 10 Cleveland giveaways in the first half. Cunningham set the tone early. NBA.com said he had 10 points after the first quarter, when Detroit led 29-27, and reached 20 by halftime on 7-of-14 shooting. The Pistons also got early support from Daniss Jenkins, who had seven points in the opening stretch with Duncan Robinson unavailable because of low back soreness. (nba.com) Tobias Harris helped swing the second quarter. NBA.com’s live blog said Detroit opened the period 6-for-6 from the field and used a 12-2 run to move ahead 43-32 with 8:33 left in the quarter. Harris, who had started 0-for-6, scored six points during that burst and had eight points at the time of the update. (nba.com) Isaiah Stewart added one of the game’s early momentum shifts from long range. The NBA playoff page’s highlight log listed Stewart hitting back-to-back 3-pointers in the first quarter, part of a Detroit start that produced five made 3s in the opening period. Detroit finished the half 6-of-14 from beyond the arc, the same mark as Cleveland, but created separation by generating more possessions. (nba.com) Cleveland stayed close behind James Harden and Max Strus. NBA.com said Harden had 13 points and five assists at halftime, while Strus scored 12 points and made four 3-pointers in 15 minutes, 32 seconds. The same update said there had been six lead changes and five ties in the first half, with both teams shooting better than 50% from the field. (nba.com) The turnover margin was the clearest separator before the break. NBA.com said Harden had three turnovers, while Donovan Mitchell and Dennis Schroder had two each. Detroit had only five turnovers in the half, and Ausar Thompson was credited earlier in the game with three steals as the Pistons pushed the ball after takeaways. (nba.com) The game carried added weight because the series entered Wednesday tied 2-2. The NBA playoff page listed Detroit as the No. 1 seed and Cleveland as the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference semifinals, with Cunningham averaging 22.8 points and Donovan Mitchell averaging 28.0 points in the series entering Game 5. NBA.com’s live blog also noted that teams winning a playoff series from a 2-2 tie have historically gone on to take the series 81.7% of the time. (nba.com) May 15 is the next date on the schedule if the series continues. The NBA playoff page lists Game 6 for 7 p.m. ET on Friday, May 15, and ESPN’s schedule page also shows Detroit at Cleveland that day if necessary. (nba.com)