On Friday March 28th at 7pm eastern time, the 59-14 Cleveland Cavaliers traveled to Detroit Michigan to play the 41-32 Detroit Pistons at the Little Caesar’s Arena. The Cavaliers last game was a 124-116 win at home against the San Antonio Spurs the previous night. The Pistons last game was a 122-96 win at home against the San Antonio Spurs last Tuesday. Out for the Cavaliers were Emoni Bates, Ty Jerome, Max Strus, and Jaylon Tyson. Out for the Pistons were Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey. The Cavaliers magic number for the top seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs was five going into this game. Their goal was to get it down to four.

In the first quarter the Pistons outplayed the Cavaliers and led after one quarter of play 31-26.  In the second quarter the Cavaliers ran early and took the lead. But late in the quarter the Pistons stormed back and led the Cavaliers at halftime 63-58. Early in the third quarter the Pistons took a double-digit lead.  And the Pistons led after three quarters of play 101-83. In the fourth and final quarter the Cavaliers did come to within two points of the Pistons. But Detroit had late fourth quarter run and defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 133-122.

The Cavaliers’ leading scorer was Donovan Mitchell with 38 points in 36 minutes. Darius Garland was right behind him with 21 points in 34 minutes of play. Up next for the 59-15 Cleveland Cavaliers is hosting the 42-31 Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday March 30th ,2025, 3:30 pm eastern time at the Rocket Arena in downtown Cleveland Ohio. The Cavaliers need a combination of 5 wins and Boston Celtic losses to clinch the Eastern Conference top playoff seed. The journey for this team continues Sunday afternoon.