Cleveland picked up their first road win of the playoffs on Thursday, and it couldn’t have come at a better time, with their 117-113 victory putting them up 3-2 in the series. They now head back to Rocket Arena, where they haven’t lost all postseason, with the chance to close out the series and they looked to have uncovered a major weakness in Detroit’s offence late in the piece in Game 5, with their double teams of Cade Cunningham making the Detroit offence collapse dramatically. Cleveland found themselves trailing by nine points with three minutes to play on Thursday, but they mounted a comeback by holding Detroit scoreless for the rest of regulation to force overtime. Their defence continued to thrive in the extra period, holding the host to just 10 points, while the James Harden and Evan Mobley pick-and-roll continued to work wonders on the offensive end, getting them the win. Harden was the star in this contest as he finished with 30 points, eight rebounds, six assists and three blocks, while Mobley had a near triple-double with 19 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and three blocks. Donovan Mitchell had 21 points and was noticeably weakened after rolling his ankle on a baseline cameraman early in the game, but the rest of the starting unit also stood up, with Max Strus dropping 20 points and eight rebounds, and Jarrett Allen posting 16 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks. There were few contributions from the bench, but it didn’t end up mattering as Cleveland calmly closed out the win on the road, putting them on the brink of a conference finals berth.
Detroit will be kicking themselves after suffering a dramatic collapse at home. A Tobias Harris three-pointer gave Detroit a 103-94 lead with three minutes to play in regulation, but they would go scoreless for the next five minutes of play to allow Cleveland to not only come back and force overtime, but then build a four-point lead at the beginning of overtime. That ended up being too much for Detroit to overcome, and they’re going to need to find a quick solution to Cleveland’s double teams on Cunningham if they are to turn the tables in Game 6. Cunningham again rose to the occasion with 39 points, seven rebounds, nine assists and two steals on another efficient shooting night, but his six turnovers continued his trend of giveaways in the playoffs. Detroit were generally tidy with the ball, conceding just ten turnovers as a team, but their lack of shot creation resulted in a poor shooting night, with just a 50.5% eFG%, but it was their defence that let them down again. For the third game running, their defensive rating was above 121.0, and this time they gave up too many open looks from three and were often torn up in the pick and roll. Ausar Thompson had his moments with four steals and three blocks but his offensive game was poor again, while Daniss Jenkins was poor defensively and Tobias Harris lost his shooting touch.
Interestingly, Paul Reed played every minute in the fourth and OT over Jalen Duren, with his energy really impacting Detroit’s play, but that again indicates that JB Bickerstaff has not figured everything out with his team and their unpreparedness with Cunningham’s double teams has me really questioning their credentials for Game 6. It didn’t feel like Cleveland played particularly well on Thursday, yet they were able to gut out a win, and I have to be with them again at home to see the series come to an end.
Minnesota simply couldn’t get into an offensive groove in Game 5, resulting in a 97-126 loss. Now down 2-3 in the series, they face an elimination game on Saturday and they’ll need to show a lot more on the offensive end if they are to keep their season alive, following a dismal 94.2 offensive rating on Wednesday. None of Minnesota’s players ever really got going offensively, and although Anthony Edwards top-scored with 20 points on a efficient shooting night, his four turnovers and lack of distribution ultimately didn’t get his team going on that. Ayo Dosunmu had his best game since returning from injury, leading the way with 16 points, nine rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks, but there were few other highlights for Chris Finch’s team. Julius Randle recorded 17 points and 10 rebounds, but did most of his damage when it was too late, with nine points and five rebounds coming in the fourth quarter, shoiting just 42.3% TS%. Naz Reid also had an off night after an impressive Game 5, with the backup big dropping just 12 points and five rebounds on 55.1% TS%. Rudy Gobert also couldn’t find the defensive answers this time around, getting thoroughly outplayed by Victor Wembanyama and being a virtual no-factor on the offensive end with just four points and no assists.
After his ejection in Game 4, Wembanyama returned with a vengeance on Wednesday, dominating from the outset to finish the night with 27 points, 17 rebounds, five assists and three blocks. He was a +24 in his 33 minutes on the floor, and he did most of his damage in the quarter, seemingly sending a statement after his tossing, as he put up 18 points and six rebounds in just 8 minutes in the first period to get SA out to a 24-9 lead. Minnesota were able to work their way back into the contest, before a 26-7 fourth quarter run from the hosts, this time led by Devin Vassell and Dylan Harper, sealed the victory. It was a dominant two-way showing from Mitch Johnson’s men, with Keldon Johnson having his best game of the playoffs with 21 points in 22 minutes and Stephon Castle dropping a very tidy 17 points, six assists, two steals and one block. De’Aaron Fox contributed 18 points and five assists, Harper had 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Vassell added 12 points of his own to round out a convincing win for San Antonio and put them on the cusp of the conference finals.
I’ll be very surprised if San Antonio doesn’t close out the series on Saturday. They have been comfortably the better team in this matchup, and with Wembanyama on the court, they have continued to dominate. As long as he avoids foul trouble or another ejection, it’s going to be all SA in this fight. Their organised and physical defence has caused real issues for Edwards, Randle and co. and Minnesota simply don’t have the answers for Wemby.