Pistons crush Cavaliers in Game 6, force decisive Game 7

Cade Cunningham and the Detroit Pistons did not just survive at Rocket Arena. They seized Game 6, buried the Cleveland Cavaliers 115-94 and forced a decisive Game 7 in Detroit with a second-half surge that changed the series’ balance in a single night.

Detroit led 54-41 at halftime and opened the third quarter with a 12-2 run, the kind of burst that took the game out of Cleveland’s hands before the Cavaliers could regroup. What had been a tight playoff series became a one-sided statement after halftime, as Detroit played with the physicality and defensive force that J.B. Bickerstaff has said define the Pistons at their best. The Cavaliers’ defensive lapses and turnovers fed the collapse, and Detroit’s energy only grew as the margin widened.

Cunningham was at the center of it again. He scored 21 points, hit five 3-pointers and finished with six assists, steadying a young roster in a hostile building. Jalen Duren added 15 points and 11 rebounds, Daniss Jenkins scored 15, and Detroit’s reserves overwhelmed Cleveland’s bench 48-19. Those numbers mattered because they showed the Pistons were not depending on one scorer or one hot stretch. They were winning the physical battle, the depth battle and the composure battle all at once.

The 21-point victory carried more than immediate stakes. It tied a 66-year-old NBA playoff record for the largest Game 6 road win by a team trailing 3-2 in a series, matching the standard set by the St. Louis Hawks against the Minneapolis Lakers in the 1960 West Division finals. Detroit has now won four games this postseason when facing elimination, including the comeback from a 3-1 deficit against the Orlando Magic in the first round, a pattern that has turned pressure into proof that this roster will keep fighting.

Now the pressure shifts hard onto Cleveland. The Cavaliers still have home-court advantage in Game 7, but after letting a close series slip into a blowout, that edge suddenly looks fragile. Cunningham called the return to Detroit a “fun environment,” and the Pistons will walk into Little Caesars Arena on Sunday, May 17, 2026, with momentum, belief and a chance to turn one road rout into a full collapse for the higher seed.