The Cleveland Cavaliers won a thriller over the Detroit Pistons behind some heroic shot-making from James Harden.

Let’s go over today’s winners and losers.

WINNER – The First Quarter

Hey, it turns out the Cavs can start a game ahead every once in a while. Not everything has to be an uphill battle.

The Cavs won the first quarter 32-30. Nothing special. But it felt a whole lot better than falling behind by double digits as they did in the previous two games. Sometimes, just giving yourself a chance is all it takes.

Shooting above 70% from the floor didn’t hurt. Cleveland began the game red-hot. Donovan Mitchell and Jarrett Allen each scored 9 points in the opening quarter, shooting 8-for-11 combined. James Harden also chipped in with 5 points, starting this game significantly better than he did the previous one.

Again, no one wins a game in the first 12 minutes. But you can certainly kneecap yourself early, making the rest of the game a slog. The Cavs finally learned that lesson and started Game 3 with the appropriate energy.

WINNER – Donovan Mitchell

I don’t think it’s an overreaction to say this entire Cavs team is built around the idea of Donovan Mitchell being one of the best playoff performers in the league. If you take that away, the Cavs aren’t a serious contender.

But when he’s playing like the superhero we know and love? This team feels like it has a fighting chance.

Mitchell web-slinged his way to 20 points on 8-12 shooting in the first half. He cooked in isolation, burning Duncan Robinson to a crisp with his step-back jumper. Then, moments after throwing an impressive alley oop to Evan Mobley, he worked his way downhill and dropped a dime to Allen in the dunker spot.

This type of efficient scoring and processing speed as a playmaker is what we’ve been missing from Mitchell. He established himself as a threat and then used that against the defense to create opportunities for others.

Spida finished with 35 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 assists.

LOSER – Offensive Rebounding

Detroit beat the Cavs 17-5 on the offensive glass.

While that’s a problem, it wasn’t as glaring as it might have seemed.

For further context, the Cavs were only outscored 19-11 on second-chance points. And, they somehow ended the game with more defensive rebounds than Detroit, winning that battle 28-23.

So what happened?

Well, the Pistons finished the game shooting 45% from the floor, and spent most of the day below that number. Meanwhile, the Cavs sat above 60% for a majority of the game and finished just below at 58%. The more shots you miss, the more offensive rebounds you have a chance to grab. The inverse is true, as well.

That doesn’t make it okay. Of course, giving up nearly 20 offensive rebounds is what allowed the Pistons to creep back into this game and take a momentary lead in the fourth quarter. They might have shot 8-18 on those second-chances, which is a credit to the Cavaliers’ defense, but that’s still eight field goals that shouldn’t have gone in, and 18 attempts that should have never had a chance.

WINNER – James Harden

Can I take back everything I’ve ever said?

Not really. The limitations in Harden’s style of play are still worth highlighting when he has games like the previous one in Detroit. But darn it, it looks great when he saves the day.

Harden took full control of Cleveland’s offense in the closing minutes. He picked his poison, working for a mismatch and then dictating the rest of the possession with his on-ball creation. The results? A step-back jumper from the mid-range. Then a crossover into a floater.

Finally, his patented three-point dagger.

“You know who you are, keep being yourself,” said Donovan Mitchell on his trust in Harden after the game. “The outside world can turn on you like that, but if you watch [Harden’s] face or demeanor, you can’t tell if he’s playing well or shooting poorly.”

We can talk about whether or not the Cavaliers’ offense needs to be more inclusive, or if Harden’s got enough gas in the tank to go the distance in a deep playoff run. But not tonight. Save that discussion for another day. Uno came through and put his team in a position to tie this series on Monday.

LOSER – The Starting Small Forward

The Cavs have an impossible decision to make. Worse, it’s a decision they’ve spent multiple years trying to solve. No matter what they try, it always feels like the wrong move.

Max Strus competently filled the starting small forward spot for years. Though he always felt undersized as the Cavs moved deeper into the postseason. Package that with a matchup versus the Toronto Raptors in round one, and it’s no wonder the Cavs pivoted to Dean Wade.

Only, Wade has given diminishing results as the playoffs go on.

Wade looked great in Games 1-2 versus Toronto. He’s had scattered moments since. But the Raptors eventually stopped defending him. The Pistons haven’t even pretended to care about him. That’s cramped Cleveland’s spacing and effectively blunted any defensive impact Wade can offer.

It went poorly the last time the Cavs tried adjusting this by starting Strus versus the Raptors in Game 5. Should that discourage them from trying it again? I’d say no, but I also think one can argue that Strus is better suited to being the sixth man than the starting forward. I think you could have argued that for years now.

Not having a better option isn’t an indictment on Strus or Wade, to be clear. This is a roster construction issue that’s bigger than either of them. Wade is a fine eighth man. Strus can be electric, if not streaky, off the bench. The issue is that both players have been overextended by trying to fill a round hole as square pegs.

Then there’s Jaylon Tyson, who many fans (including myself) have nominated for the job. He theoretically splits the difference between Wade and Strus. Just enough size to compete at the forward position, with just enough offensive skills to avoid being a detriment.

But starting lineups are earned, not given. The Cavs aren’t going to grant Tyson the starting position because of what he can do on paper. This actually has to translate to something tangible. And so far, that hasn’t happened in a strong enough way to take a chance on a sophomore wing in his first playoff run.

Note:I wrote a decent chunk of this before Max Strus stole an inbound pass and went coast-to-coast during a pivotal junction of the fourth quarter. While I do not want to delete everything I wrote before, I would like to formally give Strus my recommendation for the starting job, and perhaps even a key to the city of Cleveland, if I have that authority (I don’t).

We’ve arrived at the middle of the conference semifinal round, and the better squads out of the remaining eight teams have started to emerge.

There were two Game 3s Saturday, May 9, the first between the No. 1 seed Detroit Pistons and No. 4 Cleveland Cavaliers. In the nightcap, the No. 4 Los Angeles Lakers took on the defending NBA champions in the No. 1 Oklahoma City Thunder.

In both cases, the lower seeds played their first games of their respective series at home, and both looked to avoid falling into debilitating 0-3 deficits.

The Cavaliers did their part, fending off a Pistons rally in the second half to win, 116-109, with guard Donovan Mitchell leading the charge with 35 points.

Here are takeaways from Saturday’s Game 3s from the conference semifinal round:

Re-affirming the general vibe in the East, the Knicks remain the team to beat

No team is playing better hoops in the Eastern Conference than the New York Knicks, who are rolling through the 76ers, even as OG Anunoby is battling a hamstring issue that forced him out of Game 3 Friday, May 8.

While New York is excelling on both offense and defense, the Pistons have some vulnerabilities that have been exposed over the postseason. For one, All-Star center Jalen Duren (11 points and 4 rebounds in 29:17 on the floor Saturday) has become a role player, and is simply not a reliable No. 3 option, let alone a No. 2 threat.

In fact, his backup, Paul Reed (11 points and 3 rebounds in 9:46 on the floor) nearly matched Duren’s production in nearly 20 fewer minutes on the court. The Pistons lost 116-109.

The Cavaliers need the James Harden from the final two minutes of Game 3

James Harden did nail a trio of massive buckets inside the final two minutes Saturday — a step-back jumper, a floater in the lane and a step-back 3 to score 7 consecutive points for Cleveland in the clutch — but the Cavaliers cannot simply rely on Donovan Mitchell carrying this team back into the series with 35-pieces every game.

But consider this: prior to the final 1:29 of the game, Harden was sitting on just 12 points on 5-of-11 shooting. Harden does deserve credit for not forcing shots and letting the game come to him, but a dose of aggression earlier in these games will go a long way to tying the series up.

Coach Kenny Atkinson did show an immense amount of trust in Harden by putting the ball in his hands down the stretch. The Cavs should hope it can carry over into Game 4.

In make-or-miss league, Pistons need to find other outlets of offense

Like many teams, when the shots are dropping for Detroit, it can be tough to beat. Also like many teams, when they’re not falling, the Pistons can be vulnerable.

In the first half, the Pistons shot just 2-of-14 (14.3%) from 3-point range. And while Detroit was fortunate to catch fire and hit 7-of-11 (63.6%) from deep in the second half, a 16-point deficit at the half proved to be too much to overcome.

This has been Detroit’s weakness all season long, so the Pistons need to find ways to generate easier looks in transition to help open up the 3-point shooting.

On Saturday, both teams committed 15 turnovers. Yet, the Cavaliers turned those giveaways into 27 points, while Detroit produced only 19.

The Cavaliers are a perfect 5-0 at home this postseason. They need to do it on the road, too.

Cleveland’s inability this postseason to win away from the Rocket Arena is a significant concern. Granted, the Cavs obviously need to take care of Detroit in Game 4 to make this a series. But the Cavaliers have struggled to find offense outside of Cleveland.

In five home games this playoffs, Cleveland is averaging 119.2 points per game. On the road, that number plummets to just 100.2.

On Saturday, the Cavaliers shot the ball at an absurd 58.1% clip. In order to have any shot to come back and make a run, Cleveland needs to perform on the road.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NBA scores, takeaways from today's playoff games: James Harden clutch?

The Cleveland Cavaliers held on for their first win of the series, beating the Detroit Pistons 116-109.

All grades are based on our usual expectations for each player.

Donovan Mitchell

35 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists

Hello, Donovan.

Mitchell found something in the Game 2 loss. He carried that over to start Game 4 with a bang. Mitchell looked comfortable creating off the dribble and shot the ball well on his way to 20 points in the first half. This, paired with some of his best decisions as a playmaker in the playoffs, led to the type of performance we’ve been expecting from Spida.

Grade: A

James Harden

19 points, 7 assists, 2 rebounds, 1 steal

Harden put a disastrous Game 2 behind him and helped the Cavs sprint out of the gates today. He was back to raising their floor offensively, making timely plays to keep the Cavs bigs involved throughout the first half.

Then, in closing time, Harden put the team on his back and carried them across the finish line. It was his isolation scoring that staved off Detroit’s comeback and kept the Cavaliers in front to end the game.

Grade: A

Evan Mobley

13 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks

The Cavs will always be at their best, or at least better, when Mobley is being decisive. There’s no need for him to dribble or probe more than a few seconds on any given possession. The more straightforward the game gets, the better Mobley looks.

A fourth-quarter possession in which Mobley caught the ball on the wing, took an inverted screen, and went straight up with a two-step layup is an example of this. Mobley shot 4-6 from the floor and earned 10 free throws, but only made half of them.

Grade: B-

Jarrett Allen

18 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 2 blocks

Allen continues to be a workhorse for the Cavs. He’s putting his head down and getting to the rim, or staying alert from the dunker’s spot for more opportunities to duck in and score. Allen is holding down the fort defensively and converting the majority of his attempts on offense. Can’t ask for much more than that.

Grade: B+

Dean Wade

3 points, 1 rebound

Wade’s time in the starting lineup is getting questionable. Yet, none of the other role players has outright taken the job from him. There’s no way to work around this team’s need for a wing-sized contributor. That doesn’t mean Wade is earning his place in the rotation, but the Cavs currently have no other options.

Grade: D

Max Strus

7 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal

At this point, we’ve seen how Strus can impact winning without necessarily shooting the ball well. He was electric tonight, hustling for loose balls and giving Cleveland the intensity they sometimes lack in these moments. His third-quarter sequence, which included a backdoor layup, a forced turnover on the inbounds, and then a hockey assist for a Jaylon Tyson three-pointer, was pivotal in keeping things under control during a Detroit surge.

“He’s a maniac competitor,” said Kenny Atkinson. “We needed some wildness tonight, and he provides that.”

Grade:

Jaylon Tyson

3 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists

For as much as we want Tyson to join the starting lineup, this is a job he has to earn. Tyson was fine in his two games in Detroit, but looked a bit shell-shocked today and wasn’t as willing to shoot or attack as you’d like. An errant inbounds pass that turned into a buzzer-beating layup to end the third quarter was deflating.

Grade: C-

Dennis Schroder

11 points, 2 assists, 1 rebound, 2 blocks

Schroder helped the Cavs start this game with a lead by knocking down a pair of triples in the first quarter and using his burst to put pressure on the rim. His ball-handling and defensive tenacity have made him necessary to this rotation.

Grade: A-

Sam Merrill

7 points

Merrill returned from a hamstring injury and looked right at home. He buried a heavily contested jumper in his first minutes on the floor and then drew an offensive foul shortly after. He’d draw another one later in the second half, and did much more than the box score suggests.

Grade: B+