Cavaliers beat Pistons in Game 3 behind Max Strus' clutch steal

Max Strus did not lead Cleveland in scoring, but his fourth-quarter steal produced the possession that bent Game 3 toward the Cavaliers. Cleveland beat Detroit 116-109 at Rocket Arena and trimmed the series deficit to 2-1, avoiding the 3-0 hole no NBA playoff team has ever escaped.

Strus finished with 7 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal in 26:22, yet his value came in the moment that mattered most. The steal turned a settled half-court possession into a live-ball chance for Cleveland, and that changed the geometry of the game. Detroit could no longer dictate the floor in the same way, because one mistake opened the door to Cleveland’s tempo and better shot quality on the other end. The NBA’s game recap credited Strus with the steal and go-ahead basket, the kind of sequence that rarely shows up in a box score but often decides a series game.

Donovan Mitchell supplied the volume. He scored 35 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, leading all Cleveland scorers and repeatedly forcing Detroit to account for him in every action. James Harden provided the late execution, finishing with 19 points and 7 assists and scoring 7 points in the final 1:29 of regulation. Cleveland did not win by overwhelming Detroit with possessions; it won by making the right ones count.

That distinction mattered because Detroit actually took 91 field goals to Cleveland’s 84. Cade Cunningham posted 27 points and 10 assists, but his 8 turnovers undercut the extra volume. Tobias Harris added 21 points, and Duncan Robinson scored 15 while collecting 5 steals, but the Pistons never fully converted those numbers into the last clean stop they needed. Cleveland’s defensive pressure, capped by Strus’ steal, forced Detroit into scramble mode instead of allowing it to play on its own terms.

The game also carried an extra layer of irony for Mitchell. He had once thought Detroit might draft him in 2017 after a strong workout and film session with Stan Van Gundy, only for the Pistons to take Luke Kennard instead. Nine years later, Mitchell answered with 35 points against the franchise that nearly landed him. The larger lesson for the series is plain: Cleveland does not need Strus to score like a star, but it does need him to create one possession that breaks Detroit’s structure. When that happens, Mitchell and Harden have the firepower to finish the job.