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Bench players carry Pistons to Game 6 win over Cavaliers
May 15, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Detroit Pistons forward Paul Reed (7) drives to the basket against Cleveland Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen (31) during the second half in Game 6 of the second round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Rocket Arena. Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

Bench players carry Pistons to Game 6 win over Cavaliers

By Sean Keane  |  Last updated May 15, 2026 11:07 PM ET
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Cade Cunningham has carried the Detroit Pistons all season. With that season on the verge of ending, the Pistons' bench came through in a big way in their 115-94 Game 6 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers to extend their time in the NBA playoffs.

Paul Reed scored 17 points off the bench as the Pistons' reserves combined to score a stunning 48 points. Even Daniss Jenkins, elevated to the starting lineup for Games 5 and 6 but spiritually a bench player, scored 15 points and sank three three-pointers as his team forced a Game 7.

Detroit Pistons kept season alive with group effort

Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff made a few significant adjustments to his rotations in Game 6, some strategic and some forced upon him by injuries and foul trouble. Duncan Robinson missed Game 5 with a back injury. He came off the bench for Game 6 and made four threes in 20 minutes.

When Ausar Thompson was limited by foul trouble, Caris LeVert gave the Pistons eight points and 29 minutes of solid defense on the Cavaliers' guards, and Marcus Sasser shot 4-for-5 and had a plus/minus of +27.

Reed has supplanted Isaiah Stewart as the backup center and got an extended chance to shine in Game 6 when Jalen Duren went to the locker room with an ankle injury, shooting 7-for-9 with six rebounds. His most amazing basket came on a play that exemplified the hustle of the Pistons reserves. Reed saved a rebound going out of bounds, Robinson saved his save and then Reed got an and-one on a shot that took a very long time to fall in off the rim.

Pistons' role players outshone their Cavaliers counterparts

Detroit's bench outscored Cleveland's bench by 28 points. Kenny
Atkinson shortened his rotation to eight players, but some of those reserves seriously struggled.

Dennis Schroder went scoreless in 15 minutes with three assists and three turnovers. Max Strus followed up a 20-point Game 5 with a six-point Game 6, missing five of his seven three-point attempts and struggling to close out on Cunningham at the three-point line, where the Pistons All-Star went 5-for-10.

Sam Merrill scored 10 points and also baited Thompson into a personal foul and a flagrant one. The result was Thompson going to the bench and more dangerous scorers replacing him.

Conventional wisdom says that role players perform better at home, but the Pistons got a huge road effort from role players to force a Game 7 Sunday in Detroit. In Reed and Sasser, Bickerstaff has found two more players he can trust, though they didn't see the floor in the first two games.

It gives the Pistons confidence going into Game 7, and it gives Bickerstaff options. Cunningham needs to play well to carry his team to the conference finals, but Game 6 showed he may not have to do it alone.

Sean Keane
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Sean Keane is a sportswriter and a comedian based in Oakland, California, with experience covering the NBA, MLB, NFL and Ice Cube’s three-on-three basketball league, The Big 3. He’s written for Comedy Central’s “Another Period,” ESPN the Magazine, and Audible. com

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