It seems inevitable that the Eastern Conference-leading Detroit Pistons and the fourth-place Cleveland Cavaliers will meet in the second round of the playoffs.
But that series, if it comes to pass, won’t happen until late April.
What is guaranteed, though, is that the Central Division rivals will face off for the fourth and final time in the regular season on Tuesday in Cleveland. And the Pistons will have bruising big man Isaiah Stewart back after a seven-game NBA suspension.
“We’re in the top four and that’s where we want to be,” Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said. “We’ve got what, 20 games left? It’s real now.”
Detroit is 8-1 since Feb. 6, including a pair of wins over the New York Knicks and one apiece over Cleveland and the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder. The Pistons also surpassed the Thunder to take over the league’s best record.
“We defend at a high level that many people aren’t willing to do,” Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “Our guys just continue to do the next right thing.”
The Pistons defeated the Orlando Magic 106-92 on Sunday, outscoring them by 21 points in the second half. All-Star point guard Cade Cunningham scored 29 points and added 11 assists while small forward Ausar Thompson contributed nine points, 11 rebounds and three blocks.
Thompson was credited by teammates Tobias Harris and Caris LeVert for leading the defensive surge that held Orlando to 35 points after intermission.
“It started at halftime, when coach challenged us to be better on that end and we accepted the challenge,” LeVert said. “Ausar really led the effort on that end of the floor and the rest of us just followed suit.”
Detroit won two of its first three games over Cleveland, including a 122-119 overtime decision Friday at home. The Cavaliers were without All-Star shooting guard Donovan Mitchell and backcourt mate James Harden for that contest.
Mitchell remains sidelined with a right groin strain, but Harden returned from a right thumb fracture Sunday with 22 points, nine rebounds and eight assists in a 106-102 victory at the Brooklyn Nets.
Cleveland desperately needed to secure the win after losing 118-116 Wednesday at the Milwaukee Bucks when Jarrett Allen’s tip-in was ruled to be after the buzzer. Then came the squandering of a nine-point lead in the final 2:44 of regulation at Detroit.
The latter remains a sore spot for the Cavaliers, whose locker room was unusually subdued for a late-February loss. They have dropped three of their last five, immediately after their season-high seven-game winning streak.
“That was our game to take,” Cleveland small forward Jaylon Tyson lamented. “We were right there. We should have won that game.”
Cunningham and Harden promise a compelling one-on-one matchup, but the focal point for fans and scouts will be in the paint. All-Star center Jalen Duren and backup Stewart will be matched up with Allen and reigning Defensive Player of the Year Evan Mobley.
Duren scored 33 points and grabbed 16 rebounds in Friday’s meeting. He also caused Allen to foul out, which ended a night that featured 25 points on 10-of-12 shooting. Allen has averaged 22.1 points and 11.1 rebounds over his last 12 starts.
“When Jarrett is playing at this level, it raises our ceiling,” Atkinson said. “And what I like the most is since Evan has been back (from a left calf strain), he hasn’t taken a step back — and I love it.”
