Coming off Game 7 wins on Sunday, the Cleveland Cavaliers and Detroit Pistons wanted to get off to a fast start in the second round.
On Tuesday, the Pistons played a more polished brand of basketball in a 111-101 win over the Cavs in front of a crowd of 20,062 at Little Caesars Arena on Tuesday night.
The Cavaliers lost the turnover battle 19-11, and that wound up being a killer for their offense in Game 1. James Harden scored 22 points to go along with eight rebounds and seven assists, but his seven turnovers were costly as Cleveland lost the first game of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
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When speaking to reporters after the game, Harden took responsibility for his part in the turnover discrepancy, saying that was the reason the Cavs lost.
“You look within first,” Harden said, via the Associated Press. “Look at my turnovers, and a lot of them are just on me and nothing they did. It was way too many. If I had to put my print on one thing in the game, that’s the game right there … Like we talked about last series.
“If you get a shot on glass, even half of that, and it’s a different ballgame. For me, I got to be better. I will be better, not turning the basketball over and getting shots up. It gives our defense a chance to get back and be set. Other than that, we played a pretty solid game.”
Outside of the turnover problem, the Cavs matched up with Detroit well. Donovan Mitchell led the Cavs with 23 points. Max Strus came off the bench to add 19 points.
The Cavs went 15-of-16 from the free-throw line and outshot the Pistons 45 percent to 44 percent.
Cleveland will need better effort on the glass in Game 2; the Pistons won the rebounding battle 45-41.
Detroit will next host the Cavs on Thursday night.
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