Cleveland Cavaliers Dominate the Detroit Pistons As Donovan Mitchell Stars
The Cleveland Cavaliers rolled into Little Caesars Arena and handed the Pistons a thorough 116-95 beatdown that had fans reaching for the remote by halftime. Both teams were running on fumes—playing their third game in four nights—but you wouldn’t know it by watching Cleveland. They looked fresh as daisies while Detroit looked like they’d just run a marathon in cement shoes.
When the Wheels Come Off
Here’s where things got ugly for the home team. After Jalen Duren sank a free throw with 3:27 left in the first quarter to give Detroit a 24-22 edge, something broke. And I mean really broke. The Pistons proceeded to miss nineteen straight shots. Nineteen! That’s not a typo. You could’ve ordered a pizza, had it delivered, eaten half of it, and Detroit still wouldn’t have made a bucket.
Meanwhile, the Cavaliers went absolutely nuclear, rattling off a 25-2 run that essentially turned this game into a formality. By the time the Pistons remembered how to score, they were staring at a crater-sized deficit.
Cade’s Tough Night At the Office
Cade Cunningham, Detroit’s young star who’s supposed to be leading this franchise back to relevance, had the kind of night he’ll want to forget. We’re talking ice-cold shooting, frustrated body language, the works. When your best player struggles like that, you’re fighting an uphill battle with ankle weights on.
The final numbers tell the whole brutal story: Detroit shot just 37.9% from the field while coughing up 25 turnovers and committing 29 fouls. That’s the kind of stat line that makes coaches go gray overnight. The Pistons looked disjointed, discombobulated, and downright tired. Energy? Nowhere to be found.
What This Means Moving Forward
This loss drops Detroit to 2-2 on the young season, which isn’t catastrophic by any means. But it’s the way they lost that stings. Getting blown out at home is never fun, especially when your offense completely vanishes for double-digit minutes. The Cavaliers, now sitting pretty, proved they’re the more complete team right now—and it wasn’t particularly close.
For Pistons fans hoping this season would mark real progress, Monday served as a sobering reminder that rebuilds rarely follow a straight line. Sometimes you take two steps forward and one painful step back. Detroit needs to regroup quickly, find its offensive rhythm again, and hope Cunningham bounces back strong. Otherwise, nights like this could become too familiar for comfort.
