DETROIT (Interstat) — Cade Cunningham scored 23 points, Tobias Harris added 20 and the Detroit Pistons defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 111-101 on Tuesday night in Game 1 of their second-round playoff series at Little Caesars Arena.

Cunningham also handed out seven assists and grabbed three rebounds in 42 minutes for the top-seeded Pistons, who finished the regular season with a 65-25 record. Detroit ended an NBA record-tying 12-game postseason losing streak against a single opponent, a drought that dated to the 2007 Eastern Conference finals. The Cavaliers, who went 56-34 in the regular season, got 23 points from Donovan Mitchell and 22 from James Harden. The attendance was 20,062.

Detroit erupted for 37 points in the first quarter, building a 37-21 lead. The Pistons started 3 of 3 from three-point range, with Cunningham hitting from deep and Duncan Robinson connecting twice. Cleveland’s Evan Mobley scored on the game’s first possession with a dunk, and Mitchell added a three-pointer, but Detroit answered every bucket. Harris made three free throws, Robinson knocked down another triple, and Cunningham’s step-back jumper pushed the lead to 13-7. A 12-2 run, capped by a Daniss Jenkins layup and a Cunningham three, stretched the margin to 28-15. Cleveland managed only one field goal in the final 3:13 of the quarter, and Javonte Green’s three-pointer at the buzzer made it 37-21.

The Cavaliers regrouped in the second quarter, outscoring Detroit 25-22 to cut the deficit to 59-53 at halftime. Mitchell scored 10 points in the period, including a driving floater and a three-pointer. Harden added nine points, converting four free throws and a three. Cleveland’s bench also contributed: Thomas Bryant scored four points, and Keon Ellis hit a three. Detroit’s offense slowed as Cunningham missed several jump shots, but the Pistons maintained a double-digit lead for most of the quarter. A Cunningham free throw with 31.5 seconds left gave Detroit a 59-53 edge, and Harris’s missed jumper at the horn left the score unchanged.

The third quarter featured back-and-forth play. Robinson opened the second half with a three-pointer, but Mobley answered with a layup. Dean Wade hit a three for Cleveland, and Mobley’s driving layup pulled the Cavaliers within 67-64. Detroit’s Ausar Thompson dunked and added two free throws, yet Max Strus responded with a three. The Cavaliers continued to chip away: Strus hit another triple, and Dennis Schroder scored on a layup to make it 73-71. A 7-2 run by Detroit, including a Harris step-back jumper and a Thompson dunk, pushed the lead back to 77-73. Cleveland’s bench kept fighting. Strus scored seven points in the final three minutes, including a running dunk with 0.3 seconds left, but Ronald Holland answered with a 29-foot three-pointer at the buzzer to give Detroit an 83-81 lead entering the fourth.

The final quarter was the most critical. Strus opened with a three-point play to tie the game at 83-83. The teams traded baskets. Schroder hit a three to give Cleveland an 86-85 lead, its first advantage since the opening minutes. Harris answered with a floater, and Robinson’s three put Detroit ahead 91-86. Mitchell’s driving floater cut it to 93-90, but Harden’s free throws tied the game at 93-93 with 7:23 left.

The game turned on a sequence starting at the 5:01 mark. Harden missed a floater, and Jalen Duren grabbed the rebound. Duren then dunked off a Cunningham assist to put Detroit ahead 95-93. After a Cavaliers miss, Duren dunked again, this time on a feed from Cunningham, making it 97-93 with 4:13 left. Cleveland called timeout. Evan Mobley missed a three, and Duren dunked a third time in a span of 54 seconds to push the lead to 99-93. Harden answered with a floater, but Jenkins hit a 17-foot pullup to restore a 101-95 edge. Mitchell made one of two free throws, and Cunningham’s 8-foot pullup made it 103-97. Harris added a driving floater for a 105-97 lead. Harden’s basket cut it to 105-99, and then the Pistons closed the game at the free-throw line. Harris made two free throws with 38.4 seconds left, and after Mitchell’s fadeaway three cut it to 107-101, Jenkins sank two free throws and added a fast-break dunk to seal the win.

Harden finished with 22 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and two blocks in 35 minutes. Mitchell had 23 points, four rebounds and two assists. Mobley posted 14 points, nine rebounds, five assists and two blocks. Strus scored 19 points, hitting four three-pointers. Dean Wade added five points.

For Detroit, Harris grabbed eight rebounds and had one assist. Robinson scored 19 points, including five three-pointers. Duren recorded 11 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and two blocks. Thompson contributed 11 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Jenkins added 12 points, seven rebounds and three assists. The Pistons won despite Cunningham shooting 5 of 17 from the field; he made 12 of 15 free throws.

The series continues with Game 2 on Thursday night in Detroit. The Cavaliers and Pistons split their four regular-season meetings, with each team winning once at home and once on the road. Cleveland won the most recent matchup, 113-109 on March 3, while Detroit won 122-119 in overtime on Feb. 27.

Interstat’s game simulator projected a final score of Detroit 118, Cleveland 106. Interstat’s ELO system gave Detroit a 77.9 percent probability to win. Detroit was installed as a 3.5-point favorite. The total score of 212 went over the over-under line of 214.