Led by Donovan Mitchell’s 26 points, Cleveland dominated Detroit in Game 7 and advanced to the NBA’s final four.
Published May 18, 2026
The Cleveland Cavaliers went on the road and played Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, just like before.
Because they had it. And that experience paid off.
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On Sunday night, Donovan Mitchell led all scorers with 26 points and Jarrett Allen enjoyed his second consecutive dominant series finale as the Cavaliers advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals with a 125-94 victory over the host Detroit Pistons in a second-round elimination game of the playoff series.
Allen outscored rival big man Jaylen Duren 23-7, Sam Merrill matched Allen with 23 points off the bench, and Evan Mobley notched his first double-double of the series with 21 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. The fourth-seeded Cavaliers will face the third-seeded New York Knicks in a best-of-seven series starting Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden in New York.
It didn’t take long for the Cavaliers to plan ahead.
“This is great, I’m excited, believe me, but we’ve got to be more disciplined,” Mitchell told a television audience Tuesday, referring to the series-opening two losses in Detroit and Game 6 loss at home. “We don’t have to wait to get hit, get punched in the mouth and then go home.”
Cavs dominate Pistons early
Dominating the top-seeded Pistons in every aspect, the Cavaliers built a 20-point lead in the first half and expanded that lead to 26 points in the third period, on track to advance to their first Eastern Finals appearance since defeating the Boston Celtics in seven games in 2018.
The Pistons, who missed the Eastern Finals for the 18th straight year, missed all seven 3-pointers on a 13-point night by All-Star guard Cade Cunningham and couldn’t convert any of Tobias Harris’ six shots from the field en route to five points.
In their sixth straight Game 7 win since 2008, the Cavaliers outscored the Pistons 50.6 percent (43 of 85) to 35.3 percent (30 of 85) and outrebounded the Pistons 50-41.
When Cleveland needed a Game 7 to eliminate the Toronto Raptors in Game 1, Allen had 22 points and 19 rebounds, with 15 of his 23 points coming in the first half. Nevertheless, he credited Mitchell with the early blitzkrieg.
“He started the game not trying to take control or making every basket,” the big man said in an on-court interview that aired immediately after the final horn. “He started the game trying to distribute the ball, which is huge for a leader like him. Trying to get everyone else going and then trying to get himself going second.”
The Cavaliers only have one day off before opening day in New York, so this blowout loss should help them prepare for the next one.
“I know it’s going to be a noisy environment, but I know we can do it,” Allen boasted. “We came to such a great arena and took over the game. We just have to do it all over again.”
Danis Jenkins was Detroit’s leading scorer with 17 points and five assists, while Duncan Robinson had 13 points and Caris LeVert added 11 points. Duren had a team-high nine rebounds.
Pistons coach JB Bickerstaff congratulated the Cavaliers in his postgame press conference and issued a warning about the Eastern competition.
“We knew it was going to be a tough series and a tough test for us. (The Cavaliers) outplayed us, so give them credit,” he said. “Just like last year (when the Pistons lost to the Knicks in the first round), we’re going to pocket this game. We’ll learn from it and we’ll grow and be a better team next year.”
