After trailing 0-2, the Cleveland Cavaliers stormed back to even their first-round playoff series at 2-2 against the Detroit Pistons, powered by a historic scoring explosion from Donovan Mitchell and a steady all-around performance from James Harden.
The Cavaliers showcased two completely different identities in one game. The first half left home fans on the verge of heartbreak, while the second half turned the tide so dramatically that Pistons supporters were left stunned.
Harden started like a man possessed, channeling his prime Houston days. He knocked down three straight three-pointers, scoring 11 of Cleveland’s first 13 points to spark a 16-5 run. 
Mitchell grabbed hold of the coattails of the “Beard,” but then the offense vanished.
Detroit exploded back. Levert poured in 17 points off the bench in the first half, shooting 7-for-12. Cunningham added 12 points and 5 assists, while Harris contributed 14 points and 8 rebounds, flipping an 11-point deficit into a 56-52 halftime lead for the Pistons.
Then came the reversal of reversals. With 11.7 seconds left in the half, Cleveland trailed 50-56. By the 6:10 mark of the third quarter, the Cavaliers led 75-56—a stunning 25-0 run that rewrote the game. 
Mitchell was the catalyst. After a dreadful first half (1-for-8, 4 points), he erupted for 39 points in the second half, tying the NBA record for most points in a half (set by Sleepy Floyd in 1987). His 21-point third quarter set a league postseason record for a single quarter this season and matched the Cavaliers’ franchise record held by LeBron James and Kyrie Irving. He added 18 more in the fourth, finishing with 43 points—his eighth career 40-point playoff game, tying Giannis Antetokounmpo, Luka Doncic, Jimmy Butler, Stephen Curry, and Bradley Beal for fifth most among active players.
The 22-0 scoring run (a 25-0 burst overall) was the largest in Cavaliers playoff history and the biggest in the entire NBA since the start of play-by-play tracking. Mitchell’s third-quarter explosion was his fifth career 20-point quarter in the playoffs, surpassing LeBron James and tying Stephen Curry and Jamal Murray for the most since the 1996-97 season.
Harden, meanwhile, quietly delivered a masterclass in playmaking. Playing 37 minutes, he shot 5-for-14 from the field (all five makes were three-pointers) and a perfect 9-for-9 from the free-throw line, finishing with 24 points, 11 assists, 4 steals, and 1 block. All of his points came from beyond the arc or the charity stripe.
The duo transformed the series from a potential sweep into a best-of-three showdown. Game 5 will tip off in Detroit, with both teams knowing one win could swing momentum entirely.
