Pistons 107, Cavs 97 — Detroit takes 2-0 lead behind Cade Cunningham 25/10/6

Cleveland is in trouble. The Detroit Pistons walked into Little Caesars and hung a 107-97 on the 1-seeded Cavaliers Thursday night to take a 2-0 series lead in the East semis. Cade Cunningham finished with 25 points, 10 assists and 6 rebounds, and hit a stepback three with under two minutes left that sucked the air out of every Cleveland comeback hope.

Detroit led 54-43 at halftime by smothering Cleveland into 11 first-half turnovers. The Cavs cut it back to a one-possession game late behind Donovan Mitchell — 31 points, 6 rebounds, doing everything one star can do — but Detroit's defense locked in down the stretch. Jalen Duren finished with 14 and 10. The Pistons bench outscored Cleveland's by 12.

The Cavaliers were the 1-seed, the team with the second-best record in the league. They are now two losses from elimination. Game 3 is Saturday at Little Caesars, where Detroit hasn't lost a playoff game in this run. The Cavs have to win four of the next five to survive.