The fourth-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers demolished the Detroit Pistons 125-94 in Game 7 on Sunday night, ending the top seed's season and punching their ticket to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2018.
Donovan Mitchell led the way with 26 points as the Cavaliers never trailed, controlling the tempo from the opening tip and ultimately pulling away decisively in the third quarter when Mitchell scored 15 points. Jarrett Allen and Sam Merrill each contributed 23 points, while Evan Mobley finished with 21 points and 12 rebounds. Cleveland shot 50.6% from the field and dominated the paint 58-34.
Detroit managed only 35.3% shooting and struggled to establish any rhythm throughout the evening. Cade Cunningham, held well below his playoff average, limped through with 13 points alongside Duncan Robinson's 13. Daniss Jenkins added 17 for the Pistons, who forced a decisive seventh game with a Game 6 home victory but couldn't sustain the momentum.
"That game sucked," Cunningham said bluntly in the locker room. "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."
The defeat capped a remarkable turnaround for Detroit, which had suffered through the 2023-24 season as one of basketball's most historically bad teams, finishing 14-68 and setting an NBA record with 28 consecutive losses. Under JB Bickerstaff, the Pistons surged into contention this year and captured the East's top seed, but fell one win short of their first conference finals since 2008.
Despite the lopsided loss, Bickerstaff rejected any suggestion of disappointment with his squad. "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 character of a roster that transformed rapidly into a legitimate threat. "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."
Cleveland advances to face the third-seeded New York Knicks in the conference finals, with Game 1 tipping off Tuesday in New York. For the Cavaliers, this represents their most significant playoff run in nearly a decade and a chance to reach the NBA finals for the first time since 2018.
Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson credited his team's aggressive two-way execution. "When we play with force, it's really a key. Like, force on both ends with our talent, we're really hard to beat," 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 a whole difference, our force on both ends."
Mitchell, playing in his first conference finals, acknowledged the moment while keeping perspective. "We didn't just come here just to win a goal," he said. "Even last year when we lost to Indiana, we had our goals set on getting to the 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."
Author James Rodriguez: "Detroit's collapse from top seed to Game 7 exit stings, but Bickerstaff built something real there, and the Pistons won't be easy to dismiss next season."
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