NBA Playoffs: Four Numbers That Tell the Story of Game 2 of Pistons-Cavs, Lakers-Thunder

That’s another day of NBA playoff basketball in the books. On Thursday, the No. 1 seeds in each conference got the job done, with the Pistons and Thunder both taking 2–0 leads in their series against the Cavaliers and Lakers, respectively.

Now, both series will head to the home courts of the underdogs, where the Cavs and Lakers will have to figure out something special if they’re to come back against their higher-seeded foes.

Below we break down some of the stats and numbers that jumped off the page from the games on Thursday night.

15: Cade Cunningham’s postseason 20-point streak

Cade Cunningham is off to an extremely successful start to his postseason career. While he was relatively quiet through three quarters on Thursday night, Cunningham was the closer when the Pistons needed him to take on the role, putting up 12 of his 25 points on the night in the fourth quarter of Detroit’s 107–97 win over the Cavaliers. He’s now averaging 31.4 points per game during the Pistons’ current five-game winning streak.

As was mentioned on the broadcast, Cunningham has now scored at least 20 points in all 15 playoff games he has played thus far in his career, putting him fourth on the all-time list behind Anthony Davis (16), LeBron James (19) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (27).

The stat is a great illustration of Cunningham’s consistency and ability to meet the moment. Many players, even stars, need some time to adjust to playoff basketball. Cade Cunningham has been ready from the jump.

3, 4: James Harden’s made field goals and turnovers

On Wednesday night, Charles Barkley shared a stat that had confounded him on the set of Inside the NBA—James Harden had played 29 postseason games in which he had more turnovers than made field goals. On Thursday night, Harden bumped that number up to 30, with four turnovers against just three made field goals on the night. It’s also the fourth time in his nine playoff games this year that he’s accomplished the unenviable feat. Making the line look even worse, Harden only took three shots in the second half. He was having a tough night from the floor—he finished 3 of 13 on field goals—but you can’t stop firing in the postseason.

Draymond Green tried to defend Harden to Barkley, arguing that serving as his team’s primary ballhandler made turnovers an inevitable part of a game, but Harden’s performance in Game 2 was exactly the type of game Barkley was criticizing, and the stat is a smooth encapsulation of Harden’s tendency to fall short in the postseason.

48: Thunder bench points

If there’s any good news to take away from Game 2 for the Lakers, it's that they kept Shai Gilgeous-Alexander relatively in check. The reigning MVP finished with just 22 points on the night, and had been held to just 13 through the first three quarters of play.

The bad news for the Lakers? The Thunder’s bench can do as much damage as any second unit in the league. Oklahoma City’s bench combined for 48 points, led by Jared McCain’s 18 and Cason Wallace’s 12. The Lakers bench meanwhile provided just 20 points of support to its starters. There’s your ballgame.

23: Years LeBron has been showing us new moves

23 years in, 41 years old, and LeBron is still giving us new highlights to fall in love with. What a player.

Relive Thursday night’s NBA playoff action below

How we got here in the Pistons-Cavaliers, Thunder-Lakers series

After a comeback series win vs. the Magic, Detroit was locked in for Game 1

The Pistons jumped out to a big lead with a 37–21 first quarter, and while the Cavaliers fought back valiantly, Detroit finished with a 111–101 Game 1 victory.

Cunningham actually had one of his worst games of the playoff run thus far, scoring 23 points on just 6-of-19 shooting, but he was effective in getting to the line (9-for-11) and added seven assists, three rebounds and two assists. That just underscores how incredible he was against the Magic, a series in which he averaged more than 32 points and single-handedly carried his struggling teammates to a seven-game win after going down 3–1.

Harden and Mitchell combined for 55 points and Max Strus kept up his hot shooting from off the bench, knocking down four three-pointers en route to a 19-point outing, but the Cleveland big men did not keep up their end of the bargain. After a huge Game 7 performance against the Raptors, Jarrett Allen battled foul trouble and put up just two points and three rebounds in 18 minutes. Evan Mobley was more effective, with 14 points, nine rebounds and a pair of blocks, but still finished with a team-worst -18 in the game.

LeBron James impressed in Game 1 against the Thunder, but his supporting cast is faltering

The good: LeBron had 27/6/4 while knocking down 12-of-17 shots from the field and a trio of threes. The bad: most of the other Lakers in Game 1.

Rui Hachimura scored 18 points and provided a threat from deep, and DeAndre Ayton had a 10-point, 12-rebound double-double. Fellow starters Marcus Smart and Austin Reaves both struggled, with Reaves scoring just eight points on 16 shots, and the bench managed 15 total points. Luke Kennard, who was so important for L.A. early in their Round 1 win vs. the Rockets, has been quiet, and posted just seven points on 1-of-4 shooting.

Meanwhile, even as the Lakers did about as good a job as you could hope in limiting SGA (18 points on 8-of-15 shooting with seven turnovers), Holmgren was dominant with 24 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks. Ajay Mitchell scored 18 points while Jared McCain and Isaiah Joe made big impacts off the bench.

Oklahoma City has a litany of ways to beat you. The Lakers, without Dončić, have few, especially with Reaves struggling since his return from injury.

More NBA Playoffs From Sports Illustrated

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