The Detroit Pistons thwarted Cleveland’s comeback bid to beat the Cavaliers 107-97 on Thursday and take a 2-0 lead in their NBA playoff series.<\/p>\n
Cade Cunningham scored 25 points and handed out 10 assists and Tobias Harris<\/a> added 21 points for the Pistons, who set the defensive tone early but had to rally late after the Cavs battled back to take a two-point lead early in the fourth quarter.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n “We just stayed poised,” Cunningham told broadcaster Prime. “Stuck to our principles, stuck to our system and just turned up the energy a little bit.”<\/p>\n Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell<\/a> scored a game-high 31 points. Jarrett Allen<\/a> chipped in 22, but the Cavaliers have a mountain to climb as they head home for game three in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semi-final series on Saturday.<\/p>\n Cunningham, who scored 12 points in the final period, said the Pistons will have to “turn up our energy even more” in Cleveland.<\/p>\n “They’re a tough team to beat at home, so we’re going to have to come in with a high level of focus and competitive spirit and we’ll get the job done,” he said.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n The Pistons, who locked up the top seed in the East with the third best record in the league, had to fight back from a 3-1 deficit to beat the Orlando Magic<\/a> in the first round.<\/p>\n This series they were determined to hold on to home-court advantage and game two featured another lock-down defensive display from Detroit on the way to a 54-43 halftime lead.<\/p>\n The Cavaliers responded in the third quarter. Mitchell scored 11 points and Cleveland cut out the turnovers as they out-scored the Pistons 32-25.<\/p>\n James Harden<\/a>‘s pull-up basket with 17.5 seconds left in the third cut the deficit to one before Daniss Jenkins<\/a> drilled a three-pointer to send the Pistons into the final period with a 79-75 lead.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n