NBA Playoffs: Pistons at Cavaliers, Game 6 CLEVELAND (Interstat) — The Detroit Pistons, carrying a 3-2 series lead, visit the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday in Game 6 of their Eastern Conference playoff series at Rocket Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. EDT. Detroit (66-27) can close out the best-of-seven set and advance to the next round. Cleveland (58-35) must win to force a decisive Game 7 in Detroit on Sunday. The Pistons seized control Tuesday with a 68-65 victory at home, the lowest-scoring game of the series. Detroit’s defense limited the Cavaliers to 26 points in the second half. Caris LeVert, a guard, contributed 24 points, four rebounds and three assists in that win after playing sparingly in previous games. LeVert has been inconsistent in the series. He scored 24 points in Game 4 on May 11, then was held to six points in Game 3 on May 9. In Games 1 and 2, he totaled 17 points off the bench. He logged 25 minutes in each of the two games against Orlando in the first round. Cleveland counters with guard Donovan Mitchell, who has averaged 33.0 points in the series. Mitchell erupted for 43 points in Game 4, adding five rebounds and two assists. He scored 35 points in Game 3, 31 in Game 2 and 23 in Game 1. In the first round against Toronto, he posted 30 points in a closeout win. The Cavaliers won Games 3 and 4 at home by scores of 116-109 and 112-103 before losing Game 5. Cleveland’s home-court advantage could be decisive; the team went 30-11 at Rocket Arena during the regular season. Detroit’s top performers in Game 4 included Cade Cunningham (19 points, six assists) and Tobias Harris (16 points, eight rebounds). For Cleveland, Evan Mobley recorded 17 points, eight rebounds and five blocks in that game, while James Harden added 24 points and 11 assists. The Interstat game simulator projects a 117-109 victory for the Cavaliers. The Pistons have won three of the five playoff meetings. The teams split the regular-season series 2-2, with Detroit winning the last two contests before the postseason (Interstat) — 122-119 in overtime on Feb. 27 and 114-110 on Jan. 4. A win Friday would send the Pistons to the next round. A loss means a winner-take-all Game 7 on Sunday.