Paul Reed didn’t shy away from the truth after Game 4. Following the Detroit Pistons’ 112-103 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday night at Rocket Arena, the reserve big man pointed directly to the sequence that turned the game around and highlighted what the Pistons must fix before Game 5.
“Same mindset I have all the time—go out there, try to help my team win, do whatever is needed,” Reed said when asked about entering the third quarter as Cleveland built momentum. That task became far more difficult when Donovan Mitchell erupted for 39 points in the second half and the Cavaliers went on a 24-0 run to take control.
Reed explained that the Pistons lost their edge at the worst moment. “We were turning the ball over a lot. We couldn’t get stops. Donovan Mitchell was killing us. And yeah, that was pretty much it,” he said.
Cleveland’s surge came after Detroit led 56-52 at halftime. Mitchell scored 15 points on his own during that run, which spanned the final seconds of the second quarter into the third. The Pistons never fully recovered, even though Caris LeVert dropped a season-high 24 points and Detroit stayed within striking distance late.
Now the series heads back to Detroit tied 2-2, and Reed said the next step is straightforward. “It’s just about us figuring out what adjustments we need to make moving forward and then making them,” he said.
Reed also linked the moment to what Detroit learned earlier in the postseason. “Against Orlando, we knew we had to play with more urgency. Hopefully we can come out next game and play with more urgency,” he added.
The free-throw disparity was another flashpoint. Cleveland attempted 34 foul shots while Detroit got only 12. Reed acknowledged the frustration without using it as an excuse. “I can only speak for myself, but for the group, I think it was definitely frustrating for some guys because they felt like they were getting fouled,” he said.
Still, Reed noted that the Pistons should have expected a home whistle tilted toward Cleveland. “We’re on the road. We know the foul count will go their way. They’re home. So I feel like we should be expecting that.”
Detroit will need that mindset in Game 5 on Wednesday night. The Pistons protected their 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 must rise with it.
