Donovan Mitchell's Second Half Powers Cavs Over Pistons in Game 4

The Cleveland Cavaliers claimed their second playoff win in a row with a 112-103 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Monday.

Donovan Mitchell used a brilliant third quarter to lead the squad with 43 points. James Harden notched his second double-double of the postseason with 24 points and 11 assists, while Evan Mobley added three steals and five blocks in an impressive defensive outing.

May 11, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) drives to the basket against Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) during the first half of game four in the second round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

Jarrett Allen broke through a cold start for the Cavs with a driving layup against center Jalen Duren. Harden unleashed a one-man Cavalanche with three 3-pointers, which kept the Cavs ahead as the Pistons couldn't respond on offense. Harden would end the night with five 3-point makes on nine tries, far ahead of his average of 22.2% from beyond the arc in his first three games of the series and his 33.3% in the playoffs.

The Pistons fought back with a scoring avalanche of their own spearheaded by former Cavs wing Caris LeVert, who used a mix bag of jumpers to tack on 17 points in the half. The few-year Cavalier would end the night with a team-leading 24 points, his most in the playoffs since he dropped 24 for Cleveland in a Game 2 win over the New York Knicks in 2023.

A back-and-forth battle would leave both sides locked in a near dead-even struggle that led to nine lead changes and three ties by halftime, but Detroit came out on top behind the efforts of LeVert, guard Cade Cunningham and forward Tobias Harris.

Mitchell powered the Cavs to victory

Mitchell flipped a switch as he sparked a one-man run of his own to start the third quarter, where he dropped eight points on his own before the Cavs sparked a 23-0 run. Detroit wouldn't score its first second-half points until about six minutes into the third quarter as Cleveland's dominance on both sides of the floor led to a lopsided 38-21 difference in the quarter.

Mitchell would score eight buckets in the third quarter alone after earning just one on eight shots in the first half. Detroit managed to right the ship as its shots finally started to fall once more, but it wouldn't be enough to put the Pistons back into contention and steal Game 4 on the Cavs' home court.

The Cavs climbed out of a 2-0 deficit to tie things up with their second home win of the series. The winner of the series will move on to face the Knicks, who completed their sweep against the Philadelphia 76ers with a 144-114 win on Sunday. Cleveland last faced New York in the playoffs in 2023, where it fell in five games in the first round in its first playoff appearance since 2018.

The Knicks have since made three more trips to the playoffs under two head coaches, including former Cavs head coach Mike Brown. The Knicks punched their 2nd-straight ticket to the Eastern Conference Finals after facing the Indiana Pacers in last year's run, where a six-game battle would end in favor of the Pacers despite the duo of guard Jalen Brunson and center Karl-Anthony Towns averaging 55.5 points per game.

The Cavs will tip off against the Pistons on Wednesday at Little Caesars Arena. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.

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