The Cleveland Cavaliers aim for their first road win in the 2026 NBA Playoffs against the Detroit Pistons in Game 5, after evening the series at 2-2. The game is scheduled for Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET.
Key points
Cavaliers aim for first road win in playoffs
Game 5 against Pistons at 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday
Cavaliers lost all five postseason road games
Donovan Mitchell scored 43 points in Game 4
Series tied at 2-2 after Cavaliers' home victories
Cleveland CavaliersDetroit Pistons
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The Cleveland Cavaliers remained perfect at home this postseason by winning the past two contests at Rocket Arena to even their Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Detroit Pistons at 2-2. They now hope to record their first road victory of the 2026 NBA Playoffs and push the top-seeded Pistons to the brink of elimination.
Cleveland, which has lost all five of its postseason road games, attempts to end the drought when it visits Little Caesars Arena on Wednesday for Game 5 of its matchup with Detroit at 8 p.m. ET. The Cavaliers went 0-3 against the Raptors in Toronto during their first-round series and dropped the first two contests in the Motor City to fall behind in the conference semis.
But they answered with a pair of home victories, including a 112-103 triumph in Game 4, to improve to 6-0 on their own court in this year's playoffs. Donovan Mitchell tied the NBA postseason record with 39 points in the second half and finished with a game-high 43 while James Harden recorded a double-double with 24 points and 11 assists.
The Pistons, who are 5-1 at home this postseason, suffered back-to-back losses against the Orlando Magic in the opening round to fall behind 3-1 in that series but began a five-game winning streak by taking the final three contests of that matchup. Detroit is 1-3 in playoff matchups against Cleveland and lost each of their past three series, with the last two being sweeps.
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In the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Colorado Avalanche can advance to the Western Conference final for the first time in four years with a victory at Ball Arena against the Minnesota Wild in Game 5 of their second-round series, which begins at 8 p.m. ET. The Presidents' Trophy-winning Avalanche bounced back from their first loss this postseason and took a 3-1 lead with a 5-2 triumph at Minnesota on Monday as Parker Kelly scored his first career playoff goal with 8:28 remaining in the third period to snap a tie and Nathan MacKinnon sealed the win with an empty-netter that extended his goal-scoring streak to five games.
There are 13 games on MLB's Wednesday evening slate, with one being the finale of the three-game series between the visiting Tampa Bay Rays (28-13) and reigning American League champion Toronto Blue Jays (18-24) at 7:07 p.m. ET at Rogers Centre. The Rays look to complete a sweep with their 17th win in 19 contests after having edged the Blue Jays 7-6 in 10 innings on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the Seattle Mariners (21-22) look to move one step closer to a sweep of their own when they continue their four-game set against the host Houston Astros (16-27) at 8:10 p.m. ET at Daikin Park. Seattle began the series with 3-1 and 10-2 victories over Houston, which is in the midst of a four-game losing streak.
The Pistons are 4.5-point favorites against the Cavaliers in the latest consensus NBA odds. The Avalanche are massive -228 favorites on the money line versus the Wild, the Blue Jays are -151 favorites over the Rays and the Mariners are -127 favorites against the Astros.
Below is a snapshot of what to watch and bet for Wednesday, May 13. All times Eastern
Detroit was an Eastern Conference-best 31-9 at home during the regular season, winning eight of its final nine contests at Little Caesars Arena. The team has continued its dominance on its court in the playoffs as it has won five straight there since losing its first-round opener against Orlando. Cleveland is 0-5 on the road this postseason after suffering a pair of 10-point losses in the conference semifinals, and the SportsLine Projection Model sees the losing streak reaching six games as the Pistons win in 73% of its simulations. Detroit's Daniss Jenkins has come off the bench to record at least three assists in six consecutive games, including each of the first four in the series. SportsLine NBA expert Mike Barner (125-87, +2072 on his last 212 NBA player prop picks) likes the guard to extend the streak in Game 5.
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Each of Minnesota's three losses in the series were by three goals, although Colorado recorded an empty-net goal in both of the first two. Game 4 was even tighter, as the Wild trailed by just one tally before the Avalanche scored into a vacant net twice in the final minute of the third period. Even though empty-net goals often wreak havoc with the spread, the SportsLine Projection Model believes the Wild will keep it close on Wednesday with their season on the line as its simulations have them covering 70% of the time.
Runs have been plentiful in the series thus far, as the teams combined for 13 in each of the first two games. Tampa Bay produced a total of 15 and has scored at least seven times in three of its last five contests. Meanwhile, the Blue Jays have produced five or more runs in three of their last four outings. The Rays are tied for fourth in the AL with 186 runs, and even though Toronto right-hander Dylan Cease (2.58 ERA) has allowed fewer than four in each of his last five starts, the SportsLine Projection Model thinks the offensive onslaught will continue Wednesday as the Over hits in well over 71% of its simulations.
SportsLine picks -- Model: Astros +1.5 (-148) | Expert: Over 9 (-112, Bob Konarski)
The Mariners are 6-0 against the Astros already this season, with five of the victories being by two or more runs. The Astros have lost by at least two each time during their current four-game slide. However, the SportsLine Projection Model believes they will be more competitive Wednesday as its simulations have the Astros covering the spread 63% of the time. SportsLine expert Bob Konarski (7-3, +352 on his last 10 MLB over/under picks) is backing the Over as Houston right-hander Lance McCullers Jr. enters with a 7.41 ERA while the Astros' bullpen sports a major league-worst 6.02 mark.
