CLEVELAND — Donovan Mitchell scored 43 points and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Detroit Pistons 112-103 in Game 4 on Monday night at Rocket Arena, tying the series 2-2.
The game turned hard and fast in the third quarter, when Cleveland opened with a 22-0 run and Mitchell poured in 39 of his points after halftime, a total that tied an NBA record. Caris LeVert added 17 points in 16 minutes off the bench, giving Cleveland a lift after a first half that did not fully settle the contest.
The numbers around the foul line were part of the story, too. Cleveland attempted 34 free throws to Detroit’s 12, and the Cavaliers were not called for a foul in the first quarter. Mitchell alone made 13 free throws, while the Pistons were whistled for 20 more fouls than Cleveland across Games 3 and 4 combined, 52-32.
That imbalance was enough to draw a sharp postgame reaction from Detroit coach J.B. Bickerstaff, who called it unacceptable and said the whistle has changed ever since he came to Cleveland. He added that there was no way one player on the Pistons should shoot more free throws than the entire Cavaliers team, even as he insisted his club drives the ball and attacks the paint.
But the Pistons did not play clean enough to leave the officiating as the only explanation. Detroit had turnover problems and uneven production from its starters, and Ausar Thompson finished minus-27 in 18 minutes while Jalen Duren spent most of the third quarter on the bench. After the loss, Duren said the Pistons could not blame the refs and said they shot themselves in the foot.
The result leaves the series even and shifts the pressure back into the next game, with Cleveland carrying the momentum from Mitchell’s second-half surge and Detroit searching for answers that go beyond the whistle.
