CLEVELAND — The Detroit Pistons couldn’t overcome a poor night from Cade Cunningham in a matchup between two Eastern Conference contenders.
The Pistons fell to the Cleveland Cavaliers on the road, 113-109, on Tuesday, March 3, to fall to 45-15. Cunningham finished with a double-double (10 points, 14 assists) but hit just four of 16 tries (25%) and had just two points in the second half. Detroit was led by Jalen Duren (24 points, 14 rebounds) and Tobias Harris (19 points, five rebounds), who scored all of his points in the second half after going 0-for-4 in the first half. The Pistons also got 16 points, six assists, six rebounds and four steals from Ausar Thompson.
Cleveland Cavaliers guard James Harden (1) defends Detroit Pistons forward Tobias Harris (12) in the first quarter at Rocket Arena in Cleveland on Tuesday, March 3, 2026.
BALL DON’T LIE: Isaiah Stewart suspension over, but Pistons still dominated without him
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The Cavaliers knocked down 17 of their 46 3-point attempts, taking advance of the Pistons’ slow closeouts. The Pistons bounced back from a string of poor 3-point performances themselves, though, shooting 37.5% (9-for-24 overall).
The loss drops the Pistons to 4½ games up on the Boston Celtics (who were idle on Tuesday) in the Eastern Conference. It also shrunk the Pistons’ Central Division lead over the Cavs to 7½ games. (That’s still the second-largest division lead in the league, behind only the Oklahoma City Thunder’s eight-game margin on the Minnesota Timberwolves.) The Pistons and Cavs split the season series, with each team winning once on the other’s court.
Next up for the Pistons
The Pistons wrap up their three-game road trip with one of their toughest tests, a visit to San Antonio to face the Spurs on Thursday (8 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network Detroit). The Spurs finally lost in March after going unbeaten in February (including a win over the Pistons in Detroit) and hold the Western Conference’s second-best record at 43-17.
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Stewart returns from suspension
It had been more than three weeks since Stewart last suited up for the Pistons on Feb. 9 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The NBA’s All-Star break in mid-February made Stewart’s seven-game suspension feel much longer. During morning shootaround on Tuesday, Stewart acknowledged it was tough watching his team compete without him. But he’s also proud of how they performed, going 6-1 during his absence.
“When you’re a competitor, you want to be out there with the guys,” he said.” Definitely emotions you feel. I’m glad and proud of the way they held it down.”
Stewart checked in midway through the first quarter and had a relatively quiet performance – four points, two rebounds and two blocks in 22 minutes. There were moments when he showed why he’s their most versatile defensive big, though. One such moment came early in the fourth quarter, when he stuck with Harden during a drive to the rim, shuffling his feet backwards before poking the ball away.
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“There was a stretch, and obviously we were able to pull out some wins there which is always a good team,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said pregame. “But there were stretches there where our paint wasn’t protected like it usually is when he’s on the floor, how he challenges shots at the rim, all those things that you just miss.
“I’ve said this before, I believe he’s one of if not the best paint-protecting, rim-protecting bigs in our league. Defensively as a whole, how his versatility allows him to switch onto guards, keep guards in front of him, his fearlessness to challenge shots at the rim. You miss that, and that’s not a knock on our guys who stepped up and played and helped us get to 6-1. But any time one of our key guys goes down you miss him.”
Pistons finally break slump from 3
After shooting a season-worst 13.3% from 3 (4-for-30) in Orlando against the Magic Sunday, the Pistons responded with their best shooting performance in more than a week. They opened the game knocking down four of their first six 3-point attempts in the first quarter, with Ron Holland making his first two attempts of the night after going 0-for-4 Sunday.
Detroit Pistons forward Duncan Robinson (55) and forward Isaiah Stewart (28) defend a pass by Cleveland Cavaliers guard James Harden (1) in the first quarter at Rocket Arena in Cleveland on Tuesday, March 3, 2026.
It had been a week of poor shooting for the Pistons, going 6-for-27 (22.2%) from 3 against the Cavaliers on Friday, 9-for-27 (33.3%) against the Thunder on Wednesday and 7-for-36 (19.4%) against the Spurs at home last Monday.
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Thompson’s defense sparks offense in fourth quarter
The Pistons entered the final period with just two steals – an uncharacteristically anemic performance by one of the NBA’s most disruptive defenses, turnover-wise. But they came up with six steals in the fourth, and Thompson was directly responsible for four of them and indirectly responsible for one other.
Thompson helped cut an 11-point deficit to five midway through the fourth, cutting inside for a dunk and stealing the ball from Harden shortly after the inbounds pass and then lobbing to Javonte Green to cut it to 101-96. The Pistons finally got their transition game going with six fastbreak points and 11 points off of turnovers, helping them cut the deficit to one, 104-103, before a late push by the Cavaliers.
It was the second game in a row Thompson helped spark the team’s offense late with his defense. And he has been on a tear forcing turnovers, with 11 steals in his last four games.
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Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him on Bluesky and/or X @omarisankofa.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Pistons unleash another rally, but fall to Cleveland Cavaliers