Category: Sports News

The Detroit Pistons are looking to avoid a third consecutive loss and the precipice of elimination tonight as they host the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 5 of their best-of-seven series. The good news for the Pistons is that the Cavs are winless on the road in these playoffs, including dropping the first two to Detroit. The bad news for Detroit is that Game 4 was a truly awful showing for the team, and the Pistons have three players listed as questionable tonight — Duncan Robinson, Caris LeVert, and Kevin Huerter. The Pistons have shown they have what it takes to beat the Cavs, and they need to show it tonight up and down the roster. It will take contributions from everyone to retake control of this series.

Game Vitals

When: 8 p.m. ET
Where: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Watch: ESPN
Odds: Pistons -4.5

Projected Lineups

Detroit Pistons (2-2)

Cade Cunningham, Duncan Robinson, Ausar Thompson, Tobias Harris, Jalen Duren

Cleveland Cavaliers (2-2)

James Harden, Donovan Mitchell, Dean Wade, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen

The San Antonio Spurs second-round matchup with the Minnesota Timberwolves has been incredibly close. Not many people would argue that point. It’s funny that despite how close the series has felt, two of the Spurs’ three wins have been by 20+ points. San Antonio handled the Wolves at home in a 126-97 victory to take a 3-2 lead in the series.

They were led by a comeback effort from Victor Wembanyama, who sat most of Game Four after being ejected. He was aided by the Sixth Man of the Year, Keldon Johnson, who had his best game of the playoffs by far. Thanks to those two, the Spurs will head to Minnesota on Friday for Game Six, where they are -190 favorites to win on FanDuel.

As a quick reminder, player grades are based on each player’s on-court performance, going beyond just the stat sheet. A “B” grade represents the average performance for an individual. If a player logs fewer than 5 minutes or plays only in garbage time, their grade will be incomplete.

Victor Wembanyama

33 minutes, 27 points, 17 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 blocks, 4 turnovers, 1 foul, 9-for-16 shooting, 2-for-5 threes, +24

Wembanyama exploded offensively for 16 points in the first 6 minutes of play. He came out with force and scored over every defender the Wolves could throw at him. Even when Minnesota tried to get under his skin, Wemby remained composed and torched them on the court. He had more of a subdued impact throughout the game, but was crucial in the second half. Minnesota really struggled with Wembanyama’s verticality in the game. It felt like he could just go over the top of them on lobs at the rim or for rebounds. If you want a stat that really shows his defensive impact, the Spurs outscored the Wolves 69-36 in the paint.

Grade: A

De’Aaron Fox

34 minutes, 18 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 turnover, 2 fouls, 6-for-15 shooting, 1-for-4 threes, +24

San Antonio went to the Fox-Wembanyama pick-and-roll early and often in Game Five. Fox was able to get downhill, and Wembanyama’s hard cuts to the basket opened up a lot of offense for the rest of the Spurs. Rather than relying on his jump shot, Fox opted to get into the paint and make things happen from there. Fox looked strong on the other end, especially when he got switched onto Anthony Edwards, who he really gave some issues.

The Spurs will desperately need a good performance from him in a potential close-out game in Minnesota. Getting some of his floaters and mid-range jumpers to fall would help tremendously.

Grade: B

Stephon Castle

27 minutes, 17 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 4 turnovers, 3 fouls, 8-for-11 shooting, 0-for-1 threes, +4

As he has done his entire career, Castle competed on the defensive end and was super physical on his drives. It’s been incredible to see him go from guarding Julius Randle on one possession to slowing down Edwards on the next. The fact that he’s strong enough to take a bruiser like Randle out of the series is kind of unbelievable. This was a highlight-reel game for Castle, as he soared to the rim for some high-flying dunks. When the Wolves went to a zone, Castle made great reads from the high post to beat it. His turnovers continue to be an issue. Most of them come when he’s just trying to do a little too much with the ball in his hands.

Grade: B

Julian Champagnie

29 minutes, 8 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, 5 fouls, 3-for-9 shooting, 2-for-8 threes, +15

Champagnie took some tougher threes on Tuesday. He has held his own in this series despite the Wolves targeting him a bit with switches onto Edwards. It wasn’t quite an emphatic poster, but Champagnie’s dunk in the fourth got the arena off its feet.

Grade: B–

Devin Vassell

32 minutes, 12 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, 1 turnover, 3 fouls, 4-for-10 shooting, 2-for-7 threes, +22

The Spurs were much better with Vassell on the floor. Just being a threat to shoot the ball from deep opens things up a lot for San Antonio’s offense. He’s got the Edwards assignment again in Game Five and did a much better job at guarding him and forcing him into double-teams.

The biggest issue in Vassell’s game is that he’s just missing open shots. Offense has been harder to come by in Minnesota. Vassell will need to find his stroke from deep fast if the Spurs don’t want this series to go to seven games.

Grade: B

Dylan Harper

25 minutes, 12 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 turnovers, 3 fouls, 5-for-10 shooting, 0-for-1 threes, +13

Harper was great off the bench. It wasn’t his most dynamic offensive game, but he made up for it by being one of the most athletic and determined players on the court. He grabbed 5 offensive rebounds, most of them over the top of bigger Minnesota players. He finished through contact with athleticism at the basket, including a sick poster jam late in the game. The biggest takeaway here is that Harper has looked mature beyond his years in the playoffs. He’s destined to be a star.

Grade: A

Keldon Johnson

22 minutes, 21 points, 2 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block, 2 turnovers, 3 fouls, 8-for-11 shooting, 1-for-3 threes, +17

Johnson put on his best performance of the playoffs by far. He took the game to the Wolves with his physicality. KJ barreled into the paint and cleared space for himself with his shoulder before finishing over the top of taller defenders. He’s been regarded as the heart and soul of this team. It showed on Tuesday night. This was a much-needed game from him. We’ll see if that momentum carries over into Game Six.

Grade: A+

Luke Kornet

11 minutes, 2 steals, 1 block, 1 foul, 0-for-1 shooting, –2

San Antonio struggled in Kornet’s minutes for most of the game. He had a great stretch in the fourth quarter, helping the Spurs maintain and extend their big lead by protecting the basket with a block and some tip-aways on lobs.

Grade: B–

Harrison Barnes

4 minutes, 1 rebound, 1 assist, +/- 0

Barnes made one of the best passes of the game on a lob to Vassell out of a timeout. I couldn’t believe it got through and that Vassell finished it.

Grade: Incomplete

Carter Bryant

12 minutes, 3 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 turnover, 1 foul, 1-for-1 shooting, 1-for-1 threes, +9

Bryant has been solid in his limited minutes this series. He hit a big three in his first stint. He played strong perimeter defense and maintained an excellent effort when he was in the game.

Grade: B

Jordan McLaughlin

3 minutes, 2 assists, +7

J-Mac helped the Spurs push the pace in garbage time without doing anything offensive to run up the score. Veteran move.

Grade: Incomplete

Lindy Waters III

2 minutes, 3 points, 1-for-2 shooting, 1-for-1 threes, +4

In classic fashion, Waters let it fly off the bench and splashed in a three.

Grade: Incomplete

Kelly Olynyk

2 minutes, 3 points, 1-for-1 shooting, 1-for-1 threes, +4

Olynyk got a wide-open look at a three-pointer in garbage time and knocked it down from the corner.

Grade: Incomplete

Bismack Biyombo

2 minutes, 2 points, 1 rebound, 2 fouls, 1-for-2 shooting, +4

Biyombo got a layup in the pick and roll and then got blocked by Joan Beringer later. He also committed 2 fouls in 2 minutes.

Grade: Incomplete

Inactives: Harrison Ingram, David Jones-Garcia, Emanuel Miller

The Cleveland Cavaliers and Detroit Pistons meet in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series. The Cavs evened the series with a 112-103 victory in Game 4. The Pistons are favored by 4.5 points in Game 5, with the over/under set at 212.5.

How to Watch Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Detroit Pistons

• Date: Wednesday, May 13

• Time: 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT

• Where: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, Michigan

• TV Channels: ESPN

• Live Stream:NBA League Pass | Follow on Yahoo Sports

Odds

• Spread: Detroit Pistons -4.5

• Moneyline: Detroit Pistons -179 (61.6%) / Cleveland Cavaliers +150 (38.4%)

• Over/Under: 212.5

Series schedule, results

Game 1:Pistons 111, Cavaliers 101
Game 2:Pistons 107, Cavaliers 97
Game 3:Cavaliers 116, Pistons 109
Game 4: Cavaliers 112, Pistons 103
Game 5: Cleveland at Detroit (Wednesday May 13, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Game 6: Detroit at Cleveland (Friday May 15, 7 p.m. ET, Amazon)
Game 7: Cleveland at Detroit (Sunday May 17)*

*if necessary

Texas Longhorns junior wing Dailyn Swain plans is remaining in the 2026 NBA Draft, a decision made during the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago, which ends on Sunday, he told ESPN’s Jeff Borzello.

“Two feet in,” Swain said.

Projected as a late first-round pick in this year’s draft in the latest projection from ESPN, Swain measured at 6’6.5, 211 pounds, good height for the wing position with strong athleticism testing numbers in his max vertical and three-quarter court sprint, but is less prototypical with his wingspan and standing vertical and average agility.

Swain’s shooting has drawn some mixed reactions between the optics of his shot and his ability to hit it off the dribble in drills.

The mechanics of Swain’s shooting stroke won’t help him in the draft, but his ability as a slasher is elite and he is one of the best prospects competing in the five-on-five portions of the combine, scoring eight points on 3-of-8 shooting with five rebounds, two assists, and two steals in his first game.

Regardless of where Swain goes in the draft next month, his decision gives head coach Sean Miller and his staff some surety as they pursue a final piece or two for the 2026-27 roster.