Donovan Mitchell scored 26 points, Jarrett Allen and Sam Merrill each added 23, and the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Detroit Pistons 125-94 on Sunday night in Game 7 to advance to the Eastern Conference finals. The fourth-seeded Cavaliers ousted the East's top seed and will face the third-seeded New York Knicks, with Game 1 tipping off Tuesday in New York.
Pistons Fall Short After Forcing Game 7
Daniss Jenkins scored 17 points, while Cade Cunningham and Duncan Robinson each finished with 13 for the Pistons, who fell one win shy of their first conference finals appearance since 2008. Detroit forced the deciding game with a Game 6 victory on Friday night but could not replicate that success.
“That game sucked,” said Cunningham, who was held 16 points under his playoff average. “Being back home, wanted to get this win in front of our fans. It reminded me of last year, losing on home court. It’s not a great feeling. So I hadn’t been thinking about the offseason, so my mind’s been racing now, trying to figure out what I got to do, what it’s going to look like.”
Cavaliers Dominate From Start
Evan Mobley contributed 21 points and 12 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who advanced to the conference finals for the first time since 2018 and the ninth time in franchise history. It marks their deepest playoff run since LeBron James's final season with the team.
“We didn’t just come here just to win a goal,” said Mitchell, who reached the conference finals for the first time in his career. “Even last year, when we lost to Indiana, we had our goals set on getting to the [NBA] finals. We’re just one step closer. It’s been almost a decade of running into the same issue ... As a team, we can breathe a little bit, but at the same token, we can only breathe for about 12 hours, and then get right back to it.”
The Cavs dictated the pace from the opening tip and never allowed the Pistons to gain traction. Mitchell scored 15 points in the third quarter to blow open the game. Detroit was outscored in the paint 58-34 and shot only 35.3% from the field compared to Cleveland's 50.6%.
Coach Atkinson Highlights Force
“When we play with force, it’s really a key. Like, force on both ends with our talent, we’re really hard to beat,” Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson said. “The question we got to answer, we talked about it a lot, is we can’t have force letdowns like Game 6, where we were not the forceful team. But tonight we were, that was the whole difference, our force on both ends.”
Pistons' Season Ends on High Note Despite Loss
The abrupt ending to the Pistons' season came just two years after they endured one of the worst seasons in NBA history. Detroit finished 14-68 during the 2023-24 season and set an NBA single-season record with 28 consecutive losses before emerging this year as one of the league's biggest surprises under coach JB Bickerstaff.
Despite Sunday's lopsided defeat, Bickerstaff refused to call the ending a disappointment. “It’s not a disappointment at all,” he said. “Not ever will I be disappointed in these guys. These guys every single day give us what they got. So it is not a disappointment. It’s a loss, and it’s a tough loss. But that adjective will never be used.”
Bickerstaff repeatedly praised the growth and resilience of a roster that rapidly developed into a contender. “This team is awesome, and they’re a special group of guys,” he said. “I couldn’t be more appreciative of how they allow us to coach them, work with them every single day. The spirit they carry, their willingness to grow, their willingness to sacrifice. It’s a special group.”
