Cavaliers Draw Even, Thunder Complete the Sweep

The Cavaliers showed their true fire power in the second half against the Pistons. The Thunder continued their dominant run to repeat as champions. A pivotal game five goes down tonight in San Antonio. Let's talk about it all!

Cleveland Cavaliers DEF Detroit Pistons 112-103 (Series Tied 2-2) 

Donovan Mitchell was not going to let the Cavs go down two games in the series before heading back to Detroit. He put the team on his back to start the second half and drastically changed the game. The Cavaliers started the third quarter on a twenty two to zero run! Mitchell scored the first eight starting a perfect five for five from the field. Including two made three point shots adding an and one before missing his only shot of the third. He went on to score twenty one points in the third quarter, the Pistons as a team only scored twenty one points in the third. Needless to say Mitchell played a huge role in the Cavs success in game four. He finished the game with forty three points, five rebounds and two assists. Mitchell was not the only player contributing to the game four win. James Harden tallied twenty four points with fifteen points coming from beyond the three point line and was a perfect nine for nine from the free throw line. He assisted on eleven baskets completing his double double.

The Cavaliers defense kept the Pistons stars in check for most of the game. Cade Cunningham was coming off a triple double in game three. The Cavs held Cunningham to just nineteen points, three rebounds and six assists. Tobias Harris has scored twenty or more points in the last eight playoffs games. That streak came to an end in game four as the Cavs were able to hold him to just sixteen points, his lowest total during the Pistons entire playoff run. The Cavaliers played a complete game on defense. Adding the fire power of the offense to the lock down defensive effort lead to a win that ties the series at two games a piece before heading back to Detroit for game five. 

Oklahoma City Thunder DEF Los Angeles Lakers 115-110 (OKC Win Series 4-0)

In a shock to no one the Thunder polished off another series sweep. The Thunder advanced to their second straight conference finals as the heavy favorite again. They now await the Timberwolves and Spurs series to come to an end to see who they will have to play. Last season they faced the Timberwolves in the conference finals and made quick work of them. They won that series four games to one to advance to the Finals where they took down the Pacers. The Thunder are playing a brand of basketball that I don't think anyone left in the playoffs can compete with. I do think whoever advances to the conference finals between the Timberwolves and Spurs can steal a game or maybe even two from the Thunder. But I don't think either team has the firepower to win four of seven games. 

Now for the topic that will surely be discussed on ESPN almost daily. What is LeBron James going to do? If he comes back for another season which team will he play for? If I had to guess I would say if he plays anywhere in the 2026-27 season he will be back on the Lakers. They have a solid team that can make a run if they stay healthy. I don't think that Luka would have been enough to push them past the Thunder this season, but next season who knows. 

Minnesota Timberwolves at San Antonio Spurs - 8:00 pm EST on NBC

I believe whichever team is able to come out on top tonight will win the series. If the Wolves win tonight they will close it out at home in game six. If the Spurs win tonight they will close it out in game seven at home. This series quickly turned from a best of seven to a best of three with tonight being game one. The Timberwolves enter game five without an injury on the report. The same can't be said for the Spurs. De'Aaron Fox, the Spurs game four leading scorer is tagged as questionable with an ankle injury. I think he goes but isn't as effective as he was in game four. Reason being the Spurs will have Wemby back hopefully to play a full game. I would be shocked to see Wemby find himself in a spot to be ejected again. 

Prediction:

Timberwolves: 113

Spurs: 109

Check back tomorrow for the recap of tonight's game and the look ahead at game five between the Cavaliers and Pistons.