Cavaliers win OT Game 5, lead 3-2

James Harden scored 30 points on May 13 as the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Detroit Pistons 117-113 in overtime in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, according to NBA.com. Donovan Mitchell added 21 points, and Cleveland erased a nine-point deficit in the final minutes of regulation to move within one win of the Eastern Conference finals. Cade Cunningham scored 39 points with nine assists for Detroit, but the Pistons did not score for a five-minute stretch spanning the end of the fourth quarter and the middle of overtime. The result gave Cleveland a 3-2 series lead heading into Game 6 on Friday. ### How did Cleveland get out of a game it was close to losing? Detroit led 103-94 with just over two minutes left in regulation before Cleveland forced overtime, NBA.com’s game recap showed. Evan Mobley tied the game at 103-103 on free throws with 45.2 seconds remaining, and the Cavaliers then carried that push into the extra period. Cleveland finished the game on a 23-10 run, including a 13-0 burst that stretched from late in the fourth quarter into overtime, according to NBA.com. Mitchell hit a 3-pointer with 2:39 left in overtime to put the Cavaliers ahead by seven, their largest lead of the extra session. (nba.com) Kenny Atkinson said the comeback reflected his team’s composure as much as its shot-making. “That stretch right there says a lot about our progress - mental performance progress and mental toughness progress,” the Cavaliers coach said after the game, according to the NBA.com recap. ### Who carried the scoring in Game 5? Harden’s 30 points were a playoff high for him this postseason, NBA.com and the Associated Press game report on the league site said. (cdn-uat.nba.com) Mitchell scored 21, while Max Strus added 20 off the bench in a game Cleveland needed to keep from falling behind in the series again. Cunningham did most of Detroit’s offensive work with 39 points and nine assists, and his jumper with 25 seconds left in overtime cut Cleveland’s lead to two. (nba.com) Harden then made one free throw, rebounded his own miss on the second attempt and added another free throw to help close the game, the NBA.com recap said. ### What was Detroit upset about at the end of regulation? (nba.com) Jarrett Allen and Ausar Thompson got tangled up on a loose-ball sequence just before the end of regulation, and no foul was called, according to the AP report carried on NBA.com. Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff said after the game that Allen had fouled Thompson on the play. (nba.com) “He fouled Ausar - clearly,” Bickerstaff said, according to the league recap. “He tripped him when he was going for a loose ball.” The no-call left the game tied and sent it to overtime, where Detroit’s late-game control disappeared. NBA.com said the Pistons were held scoreless for five minutes across the end of regulation and the start of overtime. (nba.com) ### What does the series look like now? Cleveland now leads the best-of-seven series 3-2 after dropping the first two games at home and then winning three straight, according to the NBA playoff schedule page. (nba.com) The winner of the series will face the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference finals, NBA.com said. The series results listed by NBA.com show Detroit won Game 1, 111-101, and Game 2, 107-97, before Cleveland answered with wins in Game 3, 116-109, Game 4, 112-103, and Game 5, 117-113 in overtime. (nba.com) ### When and where is Game 6? NBA.com lists Game 6 for Friday, May 15, at 7 p.m. ET at Rocket Arena in Cleveland. The Cavaliers’ team schedule page lists Prime Video as the television outlet and 100.7 WMMS and La Mega 1300 as the radio broadcasts. (nba.com) The Pistons’ schedule page also lists Friday’s game at 7 p.m. ET on Prime Video. NBA.com’s playoff schedule says Game 7, if necessary, would be Sunday, May 17, in Detroit. (nba.com) May 17 is the next possible date in the series if Detroit wins Game 6, while Cleveland can advance on May 15 with a home victory at Rocket Arena, according to NBA.com’s playoff and team schedule pages. (nba.com 1) (nba.com 2) (nba.com 3)