Despite winning Game 3, the Cleveland Cavaliers still trail Cade Cunningham and the Detroit Pistons 2–1 in their Eastern Conference semifinal series. To avoid facing elimination on the road in Game 5, they must secure a victory at Rocket Arena in Game 4. Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson understands the pressure dynamics at play.
“Looking at what they’re saying, I think they still believe they’re in control of this series,” Atkinson said after Sunday’s practice. “They’ve said it themselves: ‘We’re good. We’re playing good basketball.’ So we need to change that story. We’ve already started to shift it a bit by winning Game 1 at home.
“But to really make them more aware of the threat we pose, we have to win this one. Right now, I think they’re still very confident, and I get that. I completely understand. But we need to plant some doubt. That starts with taking tomorrow’s game.”
Before last weekend’s matchup, the Pistons had won five straight after overcoming a 3–1 first-round deficit against the Orlando Magic. They dominated both home games against Cleveland at Little Caesars Arena by 10 points each, and nearly pulled off a comeback on the road Saturday, even taking the lead in the fourth quarter. However, Max Strus’ relentless effort and James Harden’s seven-point flurry in under 90 seconds sealed the win for the Cavs.
“We feel great about where we are,” Cunningham said after the game. “We feel great about how we’re playing. Obviously, coming into their building, they had energy and made shots. They’re going to make more shots. The calls will naturally go their way at home, but I thought we did a good job weathering all that and still putting ourselves in position to win.
“We’ll execute better in these games and close them out in the future. Tough loss. Of course, we wish we had taken this one, but it is what it is. We’ll learn from it and move on.”
Cunningham added that “there’s definitely optimism” on Detroit’s side, even after losing Game 3.
“We know it’s a war, not just one battle—it’s about getting four wins,” Cunningham said. “We just need to keep playing our brand of basketball and see if they can withstand it. Beyond that, breaking through and taking wins is what matters. The series is what it is. We’re ready for the next game and getting back to work.”
Although the win revived the Cavs, they must continue playing with urgency against a confident Detroit squad.
“That’s just playoff basketball,” Jarrett Allen said. “We felt the same after losing Games 1 and 2. This is going to be a tough series. We’re both great teams with different advantages. I’m not surprised they feel confident.”
“We just need one more win, and the momentum shifts,” Evan Mobley added. “That’s our focus right now. We’ll watch the film, keep getting better, and continue playing our brand of basketball, plain and simple.”
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