CLEVELAND — Donovan Mitchell tied an NBA playoff record with 39 points in the second half and the Cleveland Cavaliers evened their second-round series against the Detroit Pistons with a 112-103 victory Monday night.
Mitchell matched the mark of Eric “Sleepy” Floyd on a free throw with 27.6 seconds remaining. He had a chance to break the record, set in 1987 against the Los Angeles Lakers, but missed his second foul shot.
Mitchell finished with 43 points, including 15 during Cleveland’s 24-0 run that went from the last 12 seconds of the first half to the first six minutes of the third quarter. Cleveland trailed 56-52 at halftime before taking control.
The Cavs were 10 of 12 from the field and made three 3-pointers. They also converted five turnovers by the Pistons into nine points.
The 24-0 run was the longest in an NBA playoff game since Minnesota also scored 24 straight in Game 6 of its Western Conference semifinal series against Denver in 2024. It was also the longest spurt by Cleveland in a postseason game since play-by-play stats were kept in 1997-98. The previous high was 19 in an Eastern semifinal series contest against Boston.
James Harden had his 40th playoff double-double with 24 points and 11 assists. Evan Mobley had 17 points, five blocked shots and three steals as Cleveland remained unbeaten at home in six playoff games.
Caris LeVert had a season high 24 points for Detroit. Cade Cunningham scored 19, the first time he has been held under 20 in 11 playoff games this season, and Tobias Harris added 16.
Game 5 is Wednesday night in Detroit.
Harden scored 11 points, including three 3-pointers, as the Cavaliers jumped out to a 16-5 lead five minutes into the game. The Pistons countered with a 23-5 run that included 10 points by LeVert. Detroit was 9 of 13 from the field during the eight-minute spurt while Cleveland was 2 of 14 and missed all eight 3-point attempts.
Cleveland’s largest lead was 21 points in the fourth quarter.
