Paul Reed did not hide from the reality of Game 4. After the Detroit Pistons fell 112-103 to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday night at Rocket Arena, the reserve big pointed directly to the stretch that flipped the game and the details Detroit must clean up before Game 5.
“Same mindset I have all the time, you know, go out there, try to help my team win, do whatever is needed,” Reed said when asked about entering the third quarter with Cleveland building momentum. That task got much harder when Donovan Mitchell exploded for 39 second-half points and Cleveland ripped off a 24-0 run to seize control.
Reed said the Pistons lost their edge at the worst possible time. “You know, we was turning the ball over a lot. We couldn’t get no stops. Donovan Mitchell was killing us. And yeah, that was pretty much it,” he said.
Cleveland’s surge came as Detroit led 56-52 at halftime, then watched the Cavaliers score 15 points from Mitchell alone during the run that stretched from the final seconds of the second quarter into the third. The Pistons never fully recovered, even though Caris LeVert scored a season-high 24 points and Detroit stayed within striking distance late.
Now the series shifts back to Detroit tied 2-2, and Reed said the next step is simple. “You know, it’s just about us figuring out what adjustments we need to make moving forward and, you know, just making them,” he said.
Reed also connected the moment to what Detroit learned earlier in the postseason. “Against Orlando, we knew we had to go out and play with more urgency,” he said. “Hopefully we can come out next game and play with more urgency.”
The free-throw gap was another flashpoint. Cleveland attempted 34 foul shots while Detroit got only 12, and Reed acknowledged the frustration without using it as an excuse. “I can only speak for myself, but for the group, I think it definitely was frustrating for some guys because, you know, they felt like they was getting fouled,” he said.
Still, Reed said the Pistons should have expected the home whistle to lean Cleveland’s way. “We on the road. I mean, we know that the foul count, the fouls will go their way. You know, they’re home. So, I mean, I feel like we should be expecting that.”
Detroit will need that mindset in Game 5 on Wednesday night. The Pistons protected home court in the first two games of the series, but Reed’s postgame message made clear the margin is gone now, and the urgency has to rise with it.
