Cleveland Cavaliers guard James Harden (1) shoots as Detroit Pistons forward Tobias Harris (12) defends in the first half of Game 3 of a second-round NBA playoffs basketball series Saturday, May 9, 2026 in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

CLEVELAND — James Harden endured plenty of criticism after the first two games of Cleveland’s Eastern Conference semifinal series against Detroit.

With the Cavaliers in danger of falling into a 3-0 hole that no NBA team has ever overcome, the 17-year veteran showed he can still come up big in the clutch.

Harden hit three shots in the final two minutes Saturday to lift the Cavaliers to a 116-109 victory over the Pistons in Game 3.

“I love it. When my number’s called, just getting to my spots,” said Harden, who finished with 19 points and seven assists in 40 minutes. “Don(ovan) Mitchell had been working so extremely hard throughout the course of the game, just trying to find opportunities to help him. So that last minute and a half, two minutes, however long it was, it presented itself. And for me, just going out there and taking my shots.”

Harden was 8 of 14 from the field after going 3 of 13 in Thursday’s 107-97 loss at Detroit. His long-distance shooting also picked up as he went 3 of 7 on 3-pointers. He was 3 of 20 from beyond the arc in his last four games before Saturday.

“It’s the James Harden I’ve seen for how many years he’s been in the NBA. That’s the James we needed tonight,” Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said. “We were searching and we got some good screenings into the matchups we wanted and he went to work.”

Harden was scoreless in the fourth quarter and took only two shots during the second half on Thursday, along with a critical turnover in the final minute that ended any hopes of a Cleveland comeback.

The 2018 NBA MVP had nine points in the fourth quarter on Saturday, with seven coming in the final 89 seconds.

With the shot clock running down, Harden drove the lane and hit a 16-foot step-back jumper with 1:29 remaining to push Cleveland’s lead to 108-104.

After a driving dunk by Detroit’s Cade Cunningham, Harden came up big again. He drove past Duncan Robinson and made a floating 7-footer in the paint to put the lead back up to four.

Cunningham responded with a 3-pointer before Harden provided the decisive blow with 25 seconds remaining on a step-back 3-pointer while being guarded by Tobias Harris to make it 113-109.

“(James Harden) We understand that he hit some tough shots and made an impact on the game. But we can be tougher than that,” Harris said.

After committing 11 turnovers the first two games of the Detroit series and averaging 5.2 in Cleveland’s first nine playoff games, Harden had only three on Saturday. It was only the second time he has committed fewer than four this postseason.

“I’m literally here to find my spots and figure out what needs to be done and try to contribute in the best way possible. So I mean, chatter is going to be chatter regardless. I mean, whether you do something good, whether you do something bad,” Harden said. “I’ve done an unbelievable job throughout the course of my career of just understanding what the job needs to be, especially as I get older and doing whatever it takes to win the game. So that’s the most important thing.”

Mitchell, who had 35 points and 10 rebounds, said there is a balance for opponents in figuring out who to guard because of the scoring ability of him and Harden.

“Having the ultimate trust in him and vice versa I think is why those moments happen. Every game calls for something different and you’ve got to be able to just kind of find a way to manipulate it and be selfless. And I think as a collective, that’s the biggest thing,” Mitchell said.

CAVS STAVE OFF FALLING INTO 0-3 HOLE

After collapsing in the clutch in the first two games of the Eastern Conference semifinals, the Cleveland Cavaliers got timely plays in the final three minutes from James Harden and Max Strus to get back into their series against the Detroit Pistons.

Harden hit three big shots and Strus came up with the steal and go-ahead basket in the Cavaliers’ 116-109 victory on Saturday to cut the Pistons’ lead to 2-1.

“We know how important it is to get this first win to make it a series. So, really a team win where a lot of guys contributed tonight,” Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said.

The Cavaliers will look to even the series when they host Game 4 on Monday night.

Donovan Mitchell led Cleveland with 35 points and 10 rebounds, while Harden finished with 19 points and Jarrett Allen scored 18.

There were 11 lead changes, with the final one occurring with 2:28 remaining when Strus jumped to snare Cade Cunningham’s inbound pass to Daniss Jenkins near midcourt. Strus then drove past Cunningham and Jenkins to make a layup and give the Cavaliers a 106-104 advantage.

Atkinson called it the winning play of the game.

“That was a game changer right there. It gives us a lead, get a couple stops and a couple buckets and that’s the game,” Harden said.

Strus said it was about 3-4 seconds into the inbound play that he timed his jump and made the play.

“My job is to help win in any form or fashion,” said Strus, who finished with seven points, five rebounds and one steal. “Some nights it’s going to be shooting. Some nights it’s going to be defense. Some nights it’s going to be rebounds. The ball didn’t find me tonight, but I don’t care. As long as our team wins, I just want to make an impact and find a way to win.”

It was also the first of three straight turnovers by Cunningham, who had his second career postseason triple-double with 27 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, but also committed eight turnovers.

“I don’t want to say they were careless turnovers because I care about it a lot. They were just bad turnovers,” he said.

Mitchell reached 2,000 career postseason points in his 73rd game, tied for third-fastest among active players and ninth in NBA history. He said Harden’s performance showed why he wasn’t worried after two tough games in Detroit.

“I think the biggest thing is just he’s always consistent. He’s not result based. I think the biggest thing is we’ve seen him thrive and for me and for the group just continue to be like, ‘Hey, we know who you are. Keep being yourself.’ We’ve seen him play at a very high level, so we have no doubt that he’s going to continue to be great,” Mitchell said. “Every game might not be that way for him, for me, for whoever. But it’s just how do you continue to stay even keel and find ways to impact the game.”

Tobias Harris added 21 points for Detroit, which had its five-game playoff win streak snapped.