Cavs stun Detroit behind 23-10 closing run

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

What in the world just happened?

Down by nine points in the final 2:40 on the road, the Cleveland Cavaliers did the unthinkable and closed out the game with a demoralizing 23-10 run to frustrate the Detroit Pistons in overtime, 117-113, in Game 5 of the NBA Eastern Conference semifinals on May 14, 2026, at Little Caesars Arena.

With the impressive come-from-behind overtime win, the Cavaliers escaped elimination, moving a win away from setting up an Eastern Conference Finals duel with the New York Knicks after going up 3-2 in the series.

A 9-0 run to force overtime in front of uncharted territory in Michigan?

That’s just total insanity.

When everyone had already counted out the visiting Cleveland squad, there were some who believed that they could get out of the chokehold, and those were the tense members on the bench and the coaching staff headed by Kenny Atkinson.

Trailing 94-103 after a Tobias Harris trifecta, Donovan Mitchell kicked off Cleveland’s comeback after slicing and dicing through the Detroit interior to get the Cavaliers within seven points, 96-103.

After a successful defensive stop on the other end, the Cavaliers pushed the pace, with Mitchell finding the trailing Evan Mobley for a two-handed slam dunk that trimmed their deficit to 98-103.

The Pistons nearly converted a deuce in the paint after Cade Cunningham located the rolling Paul Reed on the left block, but Mobley swatted away his hook shot, which resulted in another Cleveland offensive reset.

When Detroit thought Mitchell would run another pick-and-roll to drive down the lane, little did the Pistons know that a pop occurred, which Mobley took advantage of as he sank a clutch 3-pointer, 101-103, turning the game into a single-possession chess match with only 1:20 remaining.

Mobley continued his heroics, stretching his personal scoring avalanche to seven consecutive points when he earned two free throw conversions after a Harris foul that tied the ballgame at 103-all.

The Cavaliers had the chance to end the game in regulation, but Ausar Thompson did a tremendous job of shadowing Mitchell, which forced a shot clock violation.

The boys on the road began to smell blood in the extension period as the 1-2 punch of Mitchell and Jarrett Allen put Cleveland ahead, 107-103.

Mitchell wasn’t done doing damage after sinking his lone 3-pointer of the game at the 2:39 mark, pushing the Cavaliers’ cushion to five points, 110-105.

Everything then fell apart for the Pistons when their sloppy inbound pass was stolen by Max Strus, leading to a Mitchell breakaway layup for a 112-105 advantage.

Detroit fought after Cunningham drained some buckets, but Cleveland put an end to a wild back-and-forth duel after sinking four much-needed shots from the charity stripe.

They were down, but they were never out.

Cleveland played catch-up for most of the game after falling into a 15-point hole in the first half, but just like they say: “It ain’t over till it’s over.”

James Harden led Cleveland’s miraculous rally with 30 big points, eight rebounds, six assists, and three blocks, while Strus added 20 markers built from an efficient 6-of-8 shooting from downtown.

Despite his dismal shooting, Mitchell still made the big plays down the stretch and finished with 21 points, including a big-time trey in overtime that extended their lead to five points.

Mobley, the unsung hero during Cleveland’s 9-0 run, tallied a near triple-double stat line of 19 markers, eight boards, eight dimes, and three blocks.

For the Detroit side, Cunningham did all that he could after exploding for 39 points, but his heroics weren’t enough to save the Pistons against the clutch performance displayed by the more experienced Cavaliers squad.

It’s now or never.

Can Detroit breathe new life and shock Cleveland to force a winner-take-all Game 7?

Or will Mitchell and the rest of the crew wrap up the series in six games?