Cavaliers rout Pistons in Game 7, advance to face Knicks in East finals

The Cleveland Cavaliers secured a spot in the Eastern Conference finals with a 125-94 victory over the host Detroit Pistons on Sunday night, winning Game 7 of their second-round playoff series.

The Cavaliers, who had previous Game 7 experience, used that to their advantage in the decisive matchup.

Donovan Mitchell led all scorers with 26 points, while Jarrett Allen dominated with his second consecutive strong series finale, and Cleveland built an insurmountable lead.

Allen outscored Pistons big man Jalen Duren 23-7, Sam Merrill added 23 points off the bench, and Evan Mobley recorded his first double-double of the series with 21 points and 12 rebounds.

The fourth-seeded Cavaliers will face the third-seeded New York Knicks in a best-of-seven series beginning Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden.

“This is fantastic. I’m excited, believe me. But we’ve got to be more disciplined” on Tuesday, Mitchell told a television audience, noting two series-opening losses at Detroit and a Game 6 defeat at home. “We shouldn’t have to wait to get hit, to get punched in the mouth and face a go-home situation.”

Overpowering the top-seeded Pistons in every facet, the Cavaliers built a 20-point lead in the first half, extended it to 26 in the third quarter, and cruised to their first Eastern finals appearance since beating the Boston Celtics in seven games in 2018.

The Pistons, failing to reach the conference finals for the 18th consecutive year, saw All-Star guard Cade Cunningham miss all seven three-point attempts on a 13-point night and Tobias Harris go scoreless from the field, finishing with five points.

Winning a Game 7 for the sixth consecutive time dating back to 2008, the Cavaliers shot 50.6 percent (43 of 85) compared with 35.3 percent (30 of 85) and outrebounded Detroit 50-41.

Allen, who had 22 points and 19 rebounds in Cleveland’s Game 7 win over Toronto in the first round, scored 15 of his 23 points in the first half.

He credited Mitchell for the early offensive push. “He started out the game not trying to take it over, not trying to score every single basket,” Allen said in a televised interview. “He started the game trying to distribute the ball. That’s huge for a leader like him – trying to get everybody else going, then getting himself going second.”

The blowout gives Cleveland only one day off before opening in New York, but the team believes the experience will help.

“We know it’s going to be a loud environment. But we know that we can do it,” Allen said. “We came into an incredible arena like this and took over the game. We just have to do it again.”

Daniss Jenkins led Detroit with 17 points and five assists, while Duncan Robinson added 13 points and Caris LeVert 11. Duren grabbed a team-high nine rebounds.

Pistons coach JB Bickerstaff congratulated the Cavaliers and issued a warning. “We knew it was going to be a tough series and a tough test for us. [The Cavaliers] outplayed us. Give them credit for it,” he said. “Just like last year [when the Pistons lost in the first round to the Knicks], we’ll put it in our pocket. We’ll learn from it, and next year, we’ll grow and be a better team.”

The Cavaliers now shift focus to the Eastern Conference finals, where they will attempt to continue their postseason run against the Knicks.