Cavaliers vs Pistons, Game 1: Pistons win 111-101, Pistons lead series 1-0

Updated
NBA Playoffs · Eastern conference semifinals
Cleveland CavaliersCavaliers
Playoffs 4-4 · Away
101–111
Final
Tuesday, May 5, 2026
Detroit PistonsPistons
Playoffs 5-3 · Home

2026 East Conference Semifinals · Pistons lead 1-0

  1. G1DET 111-101
  2. G2DET 107-97
  3. G3CLE 116-109
  4. G4CLE 112-103
  5. G5CLE 117-113
  6. G6DET 115-94
  7. G7CLE 125-94

Cavaliers vs Pistons Game 1 final: the Detroit Pistons beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 111-101 on May 5, 2026 at Little Caesars Arena. Pistons lead 1-0 after Game 1.

Cavaliers vs Pistons Game Info

Date
Tuesday, May 5, 2026
Tip-off
7:00 PM ET / 4:00 PM PT
TV / Stream
Local: DAZN (Cavaliers), WMYD TV20 (Pistons)
Arena
Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, MI
Season
2025-26 NBA Season

Score by Quarter

TeamQ1Q2Q3Q4T
Cavaliers21253025101
Pistons37222428111

Cavaliers vs Pistons Recap

The Pistons lead the series 1-0.

Cade Cunningham led the Pistons with 23 points and 7 assists. Donovan Mitchell led the Cavaliers with 23 points.

The Pistons did the damage in the 1st quarter, winning that period by 16.

Top Performers

Cavaliers

Team Stats

CavaliersStatPistons
36-80Field Goals37-84
45.0%FG %44.0%
14-383-Pointers10-26
36.8%3P %38.5%
15-16Free Throws27-35
93.8%FT %77.1%
41Rebounds45
11Off. Rebounds16
23Assists23
7Steals12
5Blocks3
19Turnovers11
22Fouls18
5Biggest Lead18

Four Factors

TeamEffective FG%Turnover %Off. rebound %FT rate (FTM/FGA)
Cavaliers53.8%17.9%27.5%0.188
Pistons50.0%10.0%34.8%0.321

Dean Oliver's four factors decide most games: shooting, turnovers, offensive rebounding and free throws. Better side highlighted.

Cavaliers vs Pistons Box Score

Cleveland Cavaliers
PlayerMINPTSREBASTSTLBLKTOFG3PTFT+/-
James Harden G3522871276-151-79-9-7
Dean Wade FC275311002-31-20-0-4
Donovan Mitchell G3523421039-194-101-2-7
Evan Mobley F3414950216-112-50-0-18
Jarrett Allen C182310111-40-00-0+4
Bench
Sam Merrill G60010010-00-00-0-10
Keon Ellis G103302001-41-30-0-5
Thomas Bryant CF94001001-40-22-2-3
Jaylon Tyson F170510010-10-00-0+9
Dennis Schröder G169130043-61-12-20
Max Strus GF2719521017-134-81-1-9
Detroit Pistons
PlayerMINPTSREBASTSTLBLKTOFG3PTFT+/-
Cade Cunningham G4123372046-192-59-11+12
Ausar Thompson GF3211851114-60-03-4-9
Jalen Duren C35111240214-110-03-4+17
Tobias Harris F3820812026-141-57-8+6
Duncan Robinson F2719022007-125-80-1+6
Bench
Caris LeVert G80200000-10-00-0+13
Javonte Green GF33100001-31-30-0-4
Daniss Jenkins G2812734015-130-32-2+8
Ron Holland F96101002-31-21-3+8
Isaiah Stewart FC126310022-20-02-2-7

Game Flow

Pistons leadCavaliers lead
Q1Q2Q3Q4
Lead changes
1
Times tied
2
Pistons largest lead
18
Cavaliers largest lead
5
Play-by-Play

Scoring plays, newest first. Score shown Cavaliers-Pistons.

1st Quarter 32 scoring plays
  • 0:02PistonsJavonte Green +321-37
  • 0:05CavaliersDonovan Mitchell +221-34
  • 0:46CavaliersDennis Schröder +119-34
  • 0:46CavaliersDennis Schröder +118-34
  • 0:57PistonsCade Cunningham +117-34
  • 0:57PistonsCade Cunningham +117-33
  • 0:57CavaliersMax Strus +317-32
  • 1:41PistonsJalen Duren +214-32
  • 3:03PistonsIsaiah Stewart +214-30
  • 3:25PistonsCade Cunningham +314-28
  • 3:54PistonsDaniss Jenkins +214-25
  • 4:17PistonsIsaiah Stewart +114-23
  • 4:17PistonsIsaiah Stewart +114-22
  • 4:51CavaliersEvan Mobley +314-21
  • 5:11PistonsDaniss Jenkins +211-21
  • 5:39PistonsDaniss Jenkins +211-19
  • 6:02PistonsJalen Duren +111-17
  • 6:02PistonsJalen Duren +111-16
  • 6:25CavaliersJames Harden +211-15
  • 6:41PistonsTobias Harris +29-15
  • 7:01PistonsCade Cunningham +29-13
  • 7:20CavaliersDonovan Mitchell +29-11
  • 7:36PistonsTobias Harris +17-11
  • 7:36PistonsTobias Harris +17-10
  • 8:23PistonsDuncan Robinson +37-9
  • 9:05PistonsAusar Thompson +17-6
  • 9:18CavaliersDonovan Mitchell +27-5
  • 9:34PistonsCade Cunningham +35-5
  • 10:18PistonsTobias Harris +15-2
  • 10:18PistonsTobias Harris +15-1
  • 10:36CavaliersDonovan Mitchell +35-0
  • 11:32CavaliersEvan Mobley +22-0
2nd Quarter 26 scoring plays
  • 0:32PistonsCade Cunningham +146-59
  • 0:32PistonsCade Cunningham +146-58
  • 0:32PistonsCade Cunningham +146-57
  • 1:25CavaliersJames Harden +146-56
  • 1:25CavaliersJames Harden +145-56
  • 2:00PistonsRon Holland +244-56
  • 2:20PistonsCade Cunningham +144-54
  • 3:02CavaliersEvan Mobley +344-53
  • 3:40CavaliersKeon Ellis +341-53
  • 3:53PistonsTobias Harris +138-53
  • 4:09CavaliersJames Harden +338-52
  • 4:23PistonsAusar Thompson +235-52
  • 4:59PistonsJalen Duren +135-50
  • 5:33PistonsTobias Harris +335-49
  • 6:35PistonsAusar Thompson +235-46
  • 7:25CavaliersJames Harden +135-44
  • 7:25CavaliersJames Harden +134-44
  • 8:11CavaliersMax Strus +333-44
  • 8:28PistonsDuncan Robinson +330-44
  • 8:44CavaliersThomas Bryant +130-41
  • 8:44CavaliersThomas Bryant +129-41
  • 9:17PistonsIsaiah Stewart +228-41
  • 9:35CavaliersDonovan Mitchell +328-39
  • 10:41PistonsAusar Thompson +225-39
  • 10:53CavaliersThomas Bryant +225-37
  • 11:23CavaliersDonovan Mitchell +223-37
3rd Quarter 26 scoring plays
  • 0:01PistonsRon Holland +376-83
  • 0:04CavaliersMax Strus +276-80
  • 0:51PistonsCade Cunningham +174-80
  • 0:51PistonsCade Cunningham +174-79
  • 0:51PistonsCade Cunningham +174-78
  • 1:52CavaliersMax Strus +374-77
  • 2:09PistonsCade Cunningham +271-77
  • 2:25CavaliersDennis Schröder +271-75
  • 2:40CavaliersMax Strus +269-75
  • 3:35CavaliersDonovan Mitchell +367-75
  • 4:19PistonsTobias Harris +264-75
  • 4:56CavaliersDennis Schröder +264-73
  • 6:12PistonsTobias Harris +262-73
  • 7:03CavaliersMax Strus +362-71
  • 7:24PistonsAusar Thompson +159-71
  • 7:24PistonsAusar Thompson +159-70
  • 7:40CavaliersJarrett Allen +259-69
  • 7:58PistonsAusar Thompson +257-69
  • 8:41CavaliersEvan Mobley +257-67
  • 8:53PistonsCade Cunningham +255-67
  • 9:03CavaliersDean Wade +255-65
  • 9:40CavaliersEvan Mobley +253-65
  • 10:23CavaliersDean Wade +351-65
  • 10:44PistonsDuncan Robinson +348-65
  • 11:37CavaliersEvan Mobley +248-62
  • 11:53PistonsDuncan Robinson +346-62
4th Quarter 31 scoring plays
  • 0:18PistonsDaniss Jenkins +2101-111
  • 0:26PistonsDaniss Jenkins +1101-109
  • 0:26PistonsDaniss Jenkins +1101-108
  • 0:33CavaliersDonovan Mitchell +3101-107
  • 0:39PistonsTobias Harris +198-107
  • 0:39PistonsTobias Harris +198-106
  • 1:46CavaliersJames Harden +298-105
  • 2:04PistonsTobias Harris +296-105
  • 2:45PistonsCade Cunningham +296-103
  • 3:07CavaliersDonovan Mitchell +196-101
  • 3:23PistonsDaniss Jenkins +295-101
  • 3:40CavaliersJames Harden +295-99
  • 3:54PistonsJalen Duren +293-99
  • 4:13PistonsJalen Duren +293-97
  • 4:50PistonsJalen Duren +293-95
  • 5:28CavaliersJames Harden +193-93
  • 5:28CavaliersJames Harden +192-93
  • 5:28CavaliersJames Harden +191-93
  • 6:00CavaliersJames Harden +290-93
  • 6:32CavaliersJames Harden +288-93
  • 7:23CavaliersJames Harden +186-93
  • 7:23CavaliersJames Harden +185-93
  • 8:18CavaliersDonovan Mitchell +284-93
  • 9:15PistonsDuncan Robinson +282-93
  • 9:48PistonsDuncan Robinson +382-91
  • 9:52PistonsRon Holland +182-88
  • 10:51PistonsTobias Harris +282-87
  • 11:04CavaliersDennis Schröder +382-85
  • 11:27PistonsDuncan Robinson +279-85
  • 11:50CavaliersMax Strus +179-83
  • 11:50CavaliersMax Strus +278-83

Next for the Cavaliers

East Conference Finals: Knicks vs Cavaliers · Knicks win 4-0

Knicks vs Cavaliers series ›

Pistons vs Cavaliers: Series So Far

GameDateMatchupResultTop scorer
Game 1May 5Cavaliers @ PistonsPistons 111-101Cade Cunningham 23
Game 2May 7Cavaliers @ PistonsPistons 107-97Donovan Mitchell 31
Game 3May 9Pistons @ CavaliersCavaliers 116-109Donovan Mitchell 35
Game 4May 11Pistons @ CavaliersCavaliers 112-103Donovan Mitchell 43
Game 5May 13Cavaliers @ PistonsCavaliers 117-113Cade Cunningham 39
Game 6May 15Pistons @ CavaliersPistons 115-94James Harden 23
Game 7May 17Cavaliers @ PistonsCavaliers 125-94Donovan Mitchell 26

Full series page ›

Series Leaders

Pistons

Cavaliers

Per-game averages in this series, top three scorers per team.

More NBA Games on May 5, 2026

That covers Cavaliers vs Pistons: score, leaders and box score above. Next: Cavaliers visit the 76ers Oct 22; Pistons host the Celtics Oct 20.

Cavaliers vs Pistons FAQs

Who won Cavaliers vs Pistons Game 1?

The Detroit Pistons won 111-101 on May 5, 2026. Pistons lead 1-0 after Game 1.

What is the Cavaliers vs Pistons series score?

Pistons lead 1-0 in the 2026 East Conference Semifinals.

Who was the top scorer in Cavaliers vs Pistons?

Donovan Mitchell scored 23 for the Cavaliers. Cade Cunningham scored 23 for the Pistons.