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All the Cleveland Cavaliers had to do to earn their first road win of these playoffs was rally from an early 15-point deficit, overcome a horrific start to the fourth quarter and survive an extra five minutes.

But after securing a hard-fought 117-113 overtime road win against the Detroit Pistons in Game 5, the Cavaliers took a 3-2 series lead and are now just one win away from advancing to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2018.

James Harden scored a team-high 30 points, and the Cavaliers overcame three turnovers and an 0-for-9 shooting start to the fourth quarter. It allowed the Pistons to go on a 12-0 run and build a nine-point lead with 2 1/2 minutes left in regulation. And that was after the Cavaliers fell behind by 15 midway through the second quarter.

Donovan Mitchell added 21 points for the Cavaliers, who also got 19 points, eight rebounds and eight assists from Evan Mobley and 16 points and 10 rebounds from Jarrett Allen.

Cade Cunningham led the Pistons with a game-high 39 points with seven rebounds and nine assists.

Here are some takeaways with Game 6 set for Friday in Cleveland.

How does one overcome an 11-point difference in points off turnovers? Get to the foul line and make a bunch more of those free throws than the home team.

That’s how the Cavs survived their 17 turnovers, worth 27 points — 27! — to win Game 5 and get to the brink of the Eastern Conference finals.

J.B. Bickerstaff, the former Cleveland coach who is on the Pistons’ sideline now and is not at all happy about the officiating over the last three games, said after Game 4 “the whistle has changed.” I asked him Wednesday what he meant, and he said “Cleveland is getting more calls.” And then the Cavs went 31 of 38 from the stripe in Game 5 compared to Detroit’s 18 of 20. That’s a wild discrepancy in favor of the road team.

But the Cavs will take it. James Harden has certainly justified their trading for him. He was 11 of 14 at the line. Max Strus has been the unsung hero of Cleveland’s playoff run. His six 3s off the bench were huge.

Cleveland had the ball with 21.7 seconds left, two time outs, and a chance to win. The Cavs didn’t call one and ran … nothing. Donovan Mitchell, whose box score of 21 points was deceiving, dribbled aimlessly while being hounded by Detroit defenders until his weak shot attempt was easily knocked away by Ausar Thompson before time expired. Yes, a timeout would’ve allowed the Pistons to put Jalen Duren back in the game for defense, but when it became clear Mitchell wasn’t going to get anything good, it was a surprise coach Kenny Atkinson didn’t bail out the team without a timeout.

They were set up for another heartbreaking road loss in overtime. But poise at the line, and the opportunity to get there, has the Cavs on the verge of advancing to play the New York Knicks.

The Pistons couldn’t capitalize in overtime after being outscored by the Cavaliers 51-43 in the second half to force the extra five minutes. Daniss Jenkins, who started in place of Duncan Robinson (low back soreness), was Detroit’s second leading scorer with 19 points. Cade Cunningham had 39.

Detroit sorely missed Robinson on a night it could’ve used his gravity and 3-point prowess. The Pistons finished 11 of 31 from long range, which wasn’t enough to stave off defeat in a decisive Game 5 loss.

J.B. Bickerstaff benched big man Jalen Duren, whose playoff struggles continued (nine points, five rebounds and a game-worst minus-16), to go with Paul Reed during the fourth quarter and overtime. Reed added 10 points and eight rebounds in 17 minutes.

Unfortunately for Detroit, its efforts from Jenkins and Reed weren’t enough to supplement Cunningham’s big scoring night. Cunningham was held to two points in overtime as the Cavaliers trapped him relentlessly, and the Pistons were unable to generate any other source of reliable offense. Cleveland earned its first road win of the postseason when it needed to most, now heading back to Rocket Arena with a 3-2 lead looking to close out and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Cavaliers have been labeled a soft team for years, but they’ve done their best during this series to shed that label for good. Rallying from a nine-point deficit over the final three minutes of the fourth quarter, on the road, is the epitome of mental toughness.

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.