Cade Cunningham has done his part. So who else will step up for the Pistons?

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It was a false sense of security, though, quickly evaporating as the Cavaliers scored nine straight points. Harris’ 3 was Detroit’s last bucket in regulation on Wednesday. Cleveland forced six consecutive misses and two shot-clock violations as it stormed back and forced overtime before eventually winning Game 5 117-113. The Pistons’ collapse was indicative of an issue their defense covered up throughout the regular season: They don’t have a reliable source of offense outside of Cade Cunningham. Not when Cavaliers star James Harden had his first 30-point game of the postseason. Not when Daniss Jenkins, in his first playoff start, was the Pistons’ second leading scorer with 19 points on 17 shots. And certainly not when Jalen Duren, Detroit’s regular-season No. 2, was a game-low minus-16 en route to being benched in the fourth quarter for Paul Reed. The Pistons’ lack of offensive firepower is why they fumbled the lead and why the Cavaliers lead the series 3-2. The offense once again sputtered late as Cleveland outscored the Pistons 23-10 from the moment Harris’ 3 went through the net to the end of overtime. Now the Pistons face another Game 6 on the road, tasked with playing for their postseason lives. There weren’t any new revelations down the stretch. The Pistons have been in more clutch-time games than any team in the playoffs. They’re 4-4 with a 91.5 offensive rating in those eight games, the lowest of any team still in the postseason. But Cunningham’s 22 playoff points on 50 percent shooting in the clutch lead the NBA. If Detroit is to bring the series back home for a Game 7, someone other than Cunningham must step up. Duren did so through the first 82 games. Harris is averaging 20.2 points during this playoff run, but he had his worst game of the second season Wednesday with 13 points on 6-of-19 shooting The fact remains: The Pistons’ offensive shortcomings aside from Cunningham limit their ceiling now, and for the foreseeable future. “It’s about exploiting whatever they’re doing that’s getting us advantages,” Cunningham said when asked how Detroit can generate more offense. “(When the) ball’s in my hands, I’ve got to do a better job of getting the ball to the open man and allowing the rest of the team to play four-on-three situations. That’s good offense for us; we’ve got people who can finish plays and make plays out of those type of situations. “I just haven’t done a good enough job drawing two and getting the ball to guys cleanly where they can go execute.” Cunningham has consistently taken responsibility for the Pistons’ offensive blemishes. While he’s undoubtedly had costly turnovers throughout the postseason, Cunningham still blamed himself fresh off 39 points, nine assists, seven rebounds, two steals and 48/60/88 shooting splits. The 24-year-old guard is leading the playoffs in total minutes (493), points (360) and assists (92). Whether Cunningham says so or not, he needs help on the offensive end. Just look at the Cavaliers. A game removed from Mitchell exploding for 39 second-half points, it was Harden who shouldered the load to help Cleveland claw back from a 15-point deficit. He had assistance from Max Strus (20 points) and Evan Mobley (19) on a night when Mitchell mustered 21 on 18 shots. The Cavaliers have been the more complete team in their last three wins. But Detroit still believes it has what it takes to force a Game 7. “You’re going to have to choke the life out of this team,” Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “We’re not going to go down without a fight. We’re not going to go down without kicking, punching, grabbing, clawing. That’s just who we are. We’ve been in this position before, and we were able to work our way through it. “I expect our guys to be ready mentally to go out and compete at a high level and bring this thing back (to Detroit).” As encouraging as that sounds, Detroit didn’t look the part in Game 5’s waning moments. With 45 seconds left in the fourth and the score all even at 103, Bickerstaff drew up an isolation for Cunningham after a timeout. Cunningham had Strus on an island near the Pistons’ logo, then got to the left wing as Harden sprinted over to show a double-team with Mobley and Jarrett Allen parked in the paint. Cunningham has drained those shots routinely, but this one was wide right and bounced off the rim. Harris, though, was able to track down the offensive board and found Caris LeVert, but he air-balled a midrange jumper, leading to Detroit’s fourth shot-clock violation of the quarter. While Cunningham got a look he likely felt confident in, the subsequent sequence illuminated just how much Cunningham — and the team — needs offensive reinforcements. LeVert has played well this series, but there should have been a more advantageous offensive opportunity than the one the Pistons got on their final shot in regulation. “We’ve got our spots,” Bickerstaff said. “We know where to put the ball when they do double-team (Cunningham). We walk through that type of stuff.” It’s time for Detroit to show they know how to handle Cleveland’s coverages of Cunningham. If not, the Pistons will have a long summer of frustration knowing they couldn’t capitalize on Cunningham’s stellar postseason play. He’s proven capable of being the best player on a team with championship aspirations. “Tonight was tough. Tough loss, obviously wanted to protect home court,” Cunningham said. “We failed to do that. Being up 3-2 is an advantage for them. It’s first to four wins, though. We know that. We’ve had our back against the wall before. And at the end of the day, if we can’t win a game on the road, how far are we really going to get in the playoffs? How far are we going to get in this league? “So we’ve got to go win a game on the road. That’s what we’re going to go do.” Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms