Cavs starting to rewrite narrative, answer questions about mental toughness in Game 5 comeback

DETROIT — Two percent.

That was the Cavs’ statistical win probability when Tobias Harris drained a 3-pointer that turned Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena into a deafening dungeon and gave the Pistons a commanding nine-point lead with three minutes left.

Two percent.

Just enough on this epic night. Fourth-seeded Cleveland rallied late to stun the top-seeded Pistons in overtime, 117-113. The Cavs now have a 3-2 series lead, one win away from advancing to the Eastern Conference finals.

“It took everything we had,” said Max Strus, one of Cleveland’s Game 5 heroes. “I think that’s what speaks volumes to getting this win, was we found a way and that’s our first time doing it on the road in the playoffs. I think that’s really big — something we can build off of going forward in the playoffs.”

Since being bullied out of the postseason by the Knicks in 2023 and then again by Boston the following year and then once more in the blunderous 2025 second round by eventual NBA finalist Indiana, a cruel reputation has followed this organization like a menacing springtime shadow.

Soft. Fragile. Weak-minded.

Teams with those characteristics don’t rally from a nine-point deficit, on the road, in the final three minutes of the fourth quarter, while staring down quite possibly one of the most consequential outcomes in decades.

Wednesday night wasn’t about eight buses filled with 400 season ticket holders, drowned out for a large portion of the game, giving the Cavs some unquantifiable late-game jolt — although kudos to chairman Dan Gilbert for footing the bill and providing a lasting memory.

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It wasn’t about an impassioned halftime speech to startle Cleveland from a mistake-filled first-half slumber.

It wasn’t about supposed momentum from back-to-back home wins spilling into Game 5 — otherwise the Cavs wouldn’t have dug an early 15-point hole.

It was about mental toughness. Fortitude. Resiliency. Guts. Determination. Everything that doubters, many of whom chose the Pistons to win this series, said the Cavs lacked.

Cleveland outscored Detroit 9-0 in the final three minutes and then 14-10 in overtime, causing Pistons fans to leave brokenhearted while the Gilbert-led Cleveland contingent started a variety of peppy chants.

“We just made big plays,” Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said following the game. “I think that stretch says a lot about our progress, mental performance progress, mental toughness progress. Kept at it. These guys, they never get down.

“You hope it propels us. You hope it galvanizes us. You hope you carry it forward. That was a battle-tested win against a heck of a team on the road. I think you build mental toughness with games like this. You build thicker skin. All that. Calls going each way, ball is flying out, it was chaos out there.”

As this series has progressed, the Cavs have looked more comfortable in the chaos — a drastic turnaround from the first two games in which Cleveland was outclassed in crunch time.

“Just sticking with it,” Evan Mobley said of his mentality. “Every single minute, every single second counts in games like this, and we stuck with it to the very end. We could have let it go and relax, but everyone just came up with big plays down the stretch. We were just all connected at the end of the game and locked in.”

“I think the biggest thing — we’ve talked about it nonstop — is withstanding the blows,” Donovan Mitchell added. “It’s ebbs and flows of the entire playoffs, entire game. Tonight was a prime example of that. Every guy stepped up when we needed them to.”

Harden, who Atkinson referred to as Cleveland’s beacon of calm, finished with a team-high 30 points, eight rebounds and six assists on 8 of 21 shooting, 3 of 10 from the 3-point line and 11 of 14 from the free-throw line in 43 minutes.

Mitchell overcame a poor shooting night (7 of 18 from the field) to score 21 points, including seven in OT.

Strus poured in 20 off the bench to go with relentless hustle and spirit.

Mobley, whose physicality has been questioned for years and suffered a cut on his face battling for a loose ball, had 19 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and three blocks. Five of Mobley’s points — a clutch triple and two free throws — came in the final 1:22 of regulation.

Jarrett Allen recorded a double-double with 16 points and 10 boards.

“Our guys aren’t that old, but I think the playoff experience, that overrides that in my mind,” Atkinson said. “Listen, these teams are very evenly matched. It’s a bucket here, a turnover there, very evenly matched. I just think we got the breaks today.”

The Cavs also got the whistles — or so the Pistons will probably say.

The six gifted free throws to Harden while being “fouled” shooting 3s. The massive 38-20 free-throw disparity (it’s 100-54 in favor of the Cavs over the last three games). The disputed no-call in the final seconds after Ausar Thompson’s incredible block on Mitchell’s potential go-ahead floater at the end of regulation.

As the final seconds ticked down and the ball rolled toward the sideline across from Cleveland’s bench, Thompson chased after it. He outraced Allen to the rebound, lunged for the ball, got his right hand on it and Allen appeared to trip Thompson from behind. He then lost his balance and fell to the floor.

Referee Tony Brothers, the closest official, waved it off and sent the game into overtime.

“During live play, both players were going for the ball and there was incidental contact with the legs with no player having possession of the ball,” Brothers said after the game via a pool report. “There was incidental contact on the play. The play will be reviewed by the league office tomorrow and it will be posted in the Last Two Minute Report.”

Had a foul been called, Thompson would’ve been awarded two free throws, with a chance to break the tie and quite possibly change the outcome.

“Fouled Ausar,” Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff said postgame. “It’s clear. He trips him when he’s going for a loose ball. End of game situation, that’s tough.”

While unfortunate that such a thrilling game ended in controversy, the Last Two Minute Report won’t change the outcome. It also doesn’t change what Cleveland showed to earn the series-shifting win.

“Anything can happen,” Mobley said. “You just got to be as locked in as possible. My main takeaway from it through all the experience that I’ve been through is just constantly being locked in, focused regardless of what’s going on, if we’re in a rut or if we’re up, just staying locked in, focused and being steady minded.”

Now the Cavs are one win away from their first conference finals appearance since 2018 and first without LeBron James since 1992. Mitchell, meanwhile, is one win away from slaying his postseason demon by advancing past the second round for the first time in his nine-year career.

“This is why we work so hard. This is why you made the move to get James and Dennis [Schroder] and Keon [Ellis],” Mitchell said. “Obviously it’s exciting to get that win and then get one step closer, but we haven’t done anything yet, so I can’t even go there mentally. You’re allowed to feel and be human, but I can’t even put myself in that position because we haven’t accomplished that yet.”

Before leaving the arena, Mobley got dressed and walked toward the large mirror adjacent to the showers. He turned his head to the right so he could see the enormous scratch on his face. Then he chuckled and shook his head.

Consider it a symbol of his postseason career, with Mobley — and Cleveland — being a proverbial punching bag.

Those scars were necessary. Those battles were fought for nights like Wednesday, to build the mental strength needed to possibly compete for the conference crown.