Cavs score, recap vs Pistons. Highlights, analysis from Cleveland's preseason finale

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Cavs score, recap vs Pistons. Highlights, analysis from Cleveland's preseason finale

Nate Ulrich and Ryan Lewis, Akron Beacon Journal · Akron Beacon Journal

Tue, Oct 14, 2025 ·

9 min read

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CLEVELAND — The Cavaliers defeated the Detroit Pistons 118-100 in Cleveland's preseason finale on Tuesday, Oct. 14, at Rocket Arena .

Preseason games are glorified practices. And for a team with championship aspirations like the Cavs , the regular season represents a long prelude to what really matters — the NBA playoffs .

Still, games must be played for the Cavs to reach where they want to go, and coach Kenny Atkinson used his regular players against the Pistons. The Cavs finished the preseason 1-3. Atkinson said he didn't want the Cavs to go 0-4 in the preseason like they did a year ago. For what it's worth, they didn't.

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Here is how Cavs versus Pistons unfolded through our updates:

Cavs beat Pistons 118-100 in preseason finale

Guard Donovan Mitchell led the Cavs with 17 points. Forward Dean Wade added 15 points and nine rebounds off the bench. Center Jarrett Allen also had 15 points to go along with six rebounds. Guard Lonzo Ball tallied nine points and nine assists off the bench.

The Cavs went 40-of-85 shooting from the field (47.1%), including 17-of-43 on 3-pointers (39.5%).

Two Pistons players scored 19 points: forward Tobias Harris and guard Daniss Jenkins .

Cavs news: Cavaliers forward De'Andre Hunter exits final preseason game with knee injury

Larry Nance Jr. , Lonzo Ball leading charge in fourth quarter

The Cavs have opened up a 100-89 lead, primarily thanks to five points each in the fourth quarter from Larry Nance Jr. and Lonzo Ball.

Ball now has nine points and nine assists. He's had a positive showing tonight.

Cavaliers, Pistons score: Cleveland leads entering fourth quarter

The Cavs went on a run to end the third quarter, and they'll take an 86-77 lead into the final 12 minutes.

Lonzo Ball, while running the baseline, had a nice touch pass to Dean Wade in the corner, which led to a 3 in the final minute. Ball has four points, four rebounds and eight assists tonight. Wade is up to 10 point and seven assists.

Cavs provide De'Andre Hunter knee injury update

De'Andre Hunter sustained a right knee contusion and will not return to tonight's Cavs-Pistons game, according to a team update.

He was limping in the first quarter, but he waived off trainers and appeared to be moving like normal heading into halftime. Hunter will finish the final preseason game with 14 points and two assists. It's possible the Cavs are being precautionary given it's only a preseason game.

Meanwhile, Jaylon Tyson just nailed a 3 to give the Cavs a 77-76 lead with 2:53 left in the third quarter.

De'Andre Hunter injury update

Cavs forward De'Andre Hunter doesn't appear to be on the bench as the second half begins.

Hunter was limping a bit during the first quarter but shook off the trainers and stayed in the game. He appeared to be moving fine during the second quarter, but he's now absent from the bench. No update has yet been provided by the team.

Cavs lead Pistons at halftime

The Cavs will take a 62-57 lead into halftime.

Donovan Mitchell has a game-high 15 points on 5-for-8 shooting from the floor. De'Andre Hunter has continued his tremendous offseason and training camp with 14 points in the first half. Evan Mobley is just 2-for-8 from the floor, but he also has three blocks and two steals on the defensive end as he prepares to defend his Defensive Player of the Year win last season. Dean Wade has eight points and three rebounds.

Cavs, Pistons score: Detroit goes on 15-3 run in second quarter; De'Andre Hunter returns

The Pistons closed the gap via a 15-3 run to open the second quarter.

Jalen Duran had four points during Detroit's surge, and Daniss Jenkins hit a deep 3 that took such a fortunate bounce off the rim and in that Evan Mobley threw up his hands. The Pistons momentarily took the lead.

The run was snapped by De'Andre Hunter, how buried a 3 to give the Cavs a 48-46 lead with 6:20 left in the quarter. Hunter has 12 points tonight, and he looks to moving just fine after briefly limping in the first quarter.

Cavs lead Pistons 42-31 at the end of the first quarter

Through one quarter, the Cavs led the Pistons 42-31.

Six-time All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell made a 3-pointer with 0.5 seconds left to cap the first-quarter scoring. He had a game-high 13 points in the first quarter on 5-of-6 shooting from the field (3-of-3 on 3-pointers).

For the Cavs, De'Andre Hunter added eight points, Jarrett Allen four rebounds and Lonzo Ball four assists.

Forward Ronald Holland II led the Pistons with nine points.

Donovan Mitchell catches fire, except for a free throw

With 4:25 left in the first quarter, Cavs All-NBA guard Donovan Mitchell had a chance to produce a four-point play with the help of a familiar face. Pistons wing Javonte Green , who spent part of last season with the Cavs, fouled Mitchell on a successful 3-pointer.

Mitchell missed the subsequent foul shot, but then he got hot from the field, making a jump shot and another 3-pointer on consecutive possessions.

The sequence gave the Cavs a 30-20 lead with 3:42 left in the first quarter.

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Cavs small forward De'Andre Hunter comes up limping in the first quarter

No one wants injuries, especially in preseason games.

But they happen sometimes.

Unfortunately for Cavs small forward De'Andre Hunter, he ended up on the floor with about five minutes left in the first quarter and came up limping after trying to draw a charge against Pistons forward Tobias Harris. The Cavs called timeout with 4:55 left, and Hunter limped to the bench, where medical personnel checked on him.

Hunter remained on the bench instead of immediately returning to the game. It's a good sign he didn't immediately flee to the locker room for a more thorough medical examination.

Cleveland Cavaliers forward De'Andre Hunter (12) dribbles the ball while being guarded by Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton during Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals on May 11, 2025, in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Cavs guard Sam Merrill shows off awareness and passing in Cleveland Cavaliers starting lineup

The Cavs are expected to begin the regular season with to starters sidelined: point guard Darius Garland (toe surgery) and small forward Max Strus (foot surgery). See more below in our preview section about these injuries.

The replacements in the starting lineup will likely be small forward De'Andre Hunter and Sam Merrill, who would fill the shooting guard spot while Donovan Mitchell serves as the primary point guard.

Merrill's audition as a starter against the Pistons went well.

The Cavs led 18-12 with 6:39 left in the first quarter, and Merrill started 2-of-2 shooting from the field (1-of-1 on 3-pointers) for five points.

But Merrill also had an outstanding assist, setting up Hunter for an open 3-pointer he made with 7:40 remaining. Merrill caught the ball from Mitchell for a split second before swinging it to Hunter in the corner.

An early Evan Mobley sighting at point forward vs. Pistons

Coach Kenny Atkinson and other members of the Cavs organization have not kept this a secret: They will ask forward Evan Mobley to bring the ball up the court more in the 2025-26 season than previous years.

Early against the Pistons, Mobley played point forward on a couple of possessions. One resulted in Mobley assisting to center Jarrett Allen on a short floater, which gave the Cavs a 6-2 lead with 10:20 remaining in the opening quarter. Another led to Mobley creating his own shot off the dribble, albeit a missed layup with 8:37 left in the first quarter.

Anyway, this is a plan to which the Cavs are clearly committed.

Cleveland Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley poses for a portrait during Cavaliers Media Day Sept. 29, 2025, at Rocket Arena in Cleveland.

Here is some pregame information:

Cleveland Cavaliers preseason scores, results

The 2025-26 Cavs entered their game Oct. 14 with a record of 0-3 in the preseason. Here are the results of their first three exhibition games:

Oct. 7 vs. Chicago Bulls : lost 118-117
Oct. 9 at Bulls: lost 119-112
Oct. 12 at Boston Celtics : lost 138-107

Cavs news: Craig Porter Jr. has chance to be bigger part of rotation as backup guard

Oct 25, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Jaden Ivey (23) drives to the basket against Cleveland Cavaliers forward Dean Wade (32) during the first quarter at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

Cleveland Cavaliers schedule. When do the Cavs start the regular season? When is Cleveland's home opener?

The Cavs are scheduled to open the regular season at 7 p.m. Oct. 22 at the New York Knicks .

The Cavs will then visit the Brooklyn Nets at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 24.

The Cavs will return to Cleveland for their regular-season home opener at 6 p.m. Oct. 26 against the Milwaukee Bucks .

Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Darius Garland answers questions from the media during Cleveland Cavaliers Media Day at Rocket Arena on Sept. 29, 2025, in Cleveland.

Cleveland Cavs injuries

Starting point guard Darius Garland ( toe surgery ) is expected to miss time early in the regular season.

Coach Kenny Atkinson said Garland participated in live five-on-five on Oct. 14.

"It was very short. It was a touch," Atkinson added. "But you know how it is. OK — great. Now let's see what tomorrow looks like. What does the recovery look like? We know this is not an easy injury to come back from. It's just not."

Starting small forward Max Strus ( foot surgery ) will miss a significant chunk of the regular season. The team stated Strus is expected to resume basketball activities in approximately three to four months from the time of his Aug. 26 surgery.

Guard Sam Merrill (abductor muscle) told reporters he'll play Oct. 14 against the Pistons after sitting out the first three preseason games. Coach Kenny Atkinson said Merrill will play and start.

Cavs starting lineup

Coach Kenny Atkinson said he would treat the preseason finale like "a little bit of a dress rehearsal."

The Cavs announced their starting lineup will be guards Donovan Mitchell and Merrill, small forward De'Andre Hunter, forward Evan Mobley and center Jarrett Allen.

It should come as no surprise if the Cavs were to use the same starting lineup to begin the regular season.

How can I watch the Cavs game today?

Cavs versus Pistons can be watched locally on the FanDuel Sports Network . It can be heard on local radio via WMMS (100.7-FM) and WTAM (1100-AM).

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cleveland Cavs score, recap vs Pistons in NBA preseason finale

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