Bounce-back performances from Donovan Mitchell and James Harden lead Cavs to Game 3 win over Pistons

Anything bought from the links helps support *Fear the Sword*. You can buy the Donovan Mitchell and James Harden *NBA Jam* shirt HERE. You can also shop all of Homage’s Cavs gear HERE. The Pistons flipped the script in the third quarter. Going from playing more of a drop coverage to switching on-ball screens slowed the Cavs downhill attack. And once the downhill attack stalls out, so has everything else about their game. Detroit’s offense can bog down in the half-court if they’re forced to attack off makes. When they can get downhill with pace off turnovers and defensive rebounds, things open up. As a result, the Pistons went 8-11 on shots in the restricted area and added five more points at the line. The Cavs went 2-3 and had just one free throw. Throw in five Cleveland turnovers, and the Pistons won the third 33-19 to make it a two-point game heading into the fourth quarter. Neither team could create any separation in the fourth. It was a tie game with two and a half minutes left, but Cleveland reasserted control. Turnovers have popped up in clutch time to hurt the road team in the first two games of the series. That happened again as Cunningham gave it away on three straight possessions, leading to four points going the other way. James Harden, who was quiet all game, took control. He scored on three-straight possessions, including a three right in Tobias Harris’s eyes with 26 seconds left to give the Cavs a four-point lead and seal the game. For as bad as Harden was at times in the first two games of the series, he came through with the game on the line in Game 3 to give Cleveland a new lease on life this series. Mitchell led all scorers with 35 points on 13-24 shooting to go along with 10 rebounds and four assists. Harden scored nine of his 19 points in the fourth quarter. He finished with seven assists, two rebounds, and a steal. Allen added 18 points. Mobley had 13 points, eight rebounds, and four assists. Cunningham led Detroit with a 27-point triple-double. Tobias Harris had 21 points and five rebounds. Cleveland has a chance to tie the series in Game 4 on Monday at 8 PM.