Cleveland Stuns No. 1 Seed Detroit to Advance to East Finals
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| Cavs crush Pistons, book spot in East finals |
The fourth-seeded Cavaliers finished off the 60-22 Pistons with a decisive road win, setting up a conference finals matchup with New York.
Cleveland ended Detroit’s playoff run with a blowout Game 7 victory and will now face the Knicks for a trip to the NBA Finals...
The Cleveland Cavaliers knocked out top-seeded Detroit from the NBA playoffs on Sunday with a dominant 125-94 win in Game 7. They now advance to face the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference finals.
Donovan Mitchell led the way with 26 points as Cleveland became the final team to reach the conference finals this postseason. The Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs are already set in the West.
Mitchell was one of four Cavaliers to score 20 or more points. Jarrett Allen, Evan Mobley, and bench player Sam Merrill also hit the 20-point mark.
After failing to close out the series at home on Friday, Cleveland bounced back with a convincing road win in Detroit. The result caps an impressive playoff run for a team that had an average regular season and finished fourth in the East.
“We responded with force for 48 minutes tonight,” said Mitchell.
“Especially in a hostile environment... that was that was the biggest thing, is just how do you respond? And not letting the moment become too big.”
It was a tough end for Detroit. The team finished the regular season on top of the conference with a 60-22 record, but struggled to find consistency in the playoffs and ultimately fell short in front of their home crowd.
“That game sucked,” said Pistons star Cade Cunningham.
"Being back home, definitely wanted to get this win in front of the fans. Reminded me of last year, losing on home court. It's not a great feeling.”
Cleveland built a 20-point lead in the first half, helped by sharp shooting and unusually passive defense from Detroit.
— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) May 18, 2026
Stunned Home Crowd — Another Steep Climb
Detroit struggled on the boards and gave up too many open three-point looks, while their offense never found a rhythm.
The Pistons went into halftime down 64-47. It left them facing yet another comeback attempt after already surviving four elimination games earlier in the postseason.
Detroit had already fought back from 3-1 down to edge past Orlando in the first round. Trailing 3-2 against Cleveland, they showed that same resilience by winning an elimination game on Friday.
Cleveland did not allow Detroit a way back this time. The Cavaliers played with a level of intensity Detroit could not match, and with Mitchell leading the charge he appeared to be influencing every part of the game.
“He started out the game not trying to take it over, not trying to score every single basket,” said Allen.
“He started the game trying to distribute the ball. I think that's huge for a leader like him, trying to get everybody else going, and then getting himself going second.”
Cleveland extended their lead to 26 points by the end of the third quarter. The stunned home crowd started to lose hope and began leaving Little Caesars Arena.
With four minutes left and the result beyond doubt, Cleveland pulled their starters, including Mitchell.
The win sends Cleveland to their first conference finals since 2018. They open the series against the Knicks on Tuesday, after New York swept Philadelphia 4-0 in the semifinals.
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