CLEVELAND — Donovan Mitchell scored 43 points and the Cavaliers beat the Pistons 112-103 on Monday night at Rocket Arena, evening the series after a game that ended with Detroit furious about the whistle. Mitchell put up 39 of his points in the second half, and Cleveland closed with the win after a night in which the free throws told one story and the final score told another.
The Cavaliers took 34 free-throw attempts to Detroit's 12, and Mitchell made 13 free throws by himself, more than the Pistons took as a team. Cleveland was not called for a foul in the first quarter, and over Games 3 and 4 in Cleveland the Cavaliers were called for 20 more fouls than the Pistons, 52-32. J.B. Bickerstaff did not hide his anger after the final horn. “It's unacceptable, it is,” he said, adding that “ever since we came to Cleveland, the whistle has changed” and that “there's no way that one guy on their team shoots more free throws than our team.”
That frustration landed after a game Detroit helped undermine itself. Jalen Duren had four turnovers and two rebounds, while Paul Reed gave the Pistons a lift off the bench. Caris LeVert, entering for Ausar Thompson, scored 17 points in 16 minutes, and Detroit had a 22-0 run in the mix before the game tilted away. Mitchell's second-half surge carried Cleveland through the closing stretch and tied an NBA record with 39 points after halftime.
Bickerstaff's complaint fit a broader pattern in the two games in Cleveland, where the foul count has repeatedly become part of the story. But Detroit's own issues were just as visible Monday. Afterward, Duren cut off the simplest excuse. “You can't blame it on the refs,” he said. “I mean, we shot ourselves in the foot.” The series now turns with the teams level again, and both sides know the next game will be judged not just by who scores, but by how the officials call it from the opening tip.
