Cavaliers overwhelm Pistons, advance to face Knicks in East finals

The Cleveland Cavaliers treated Sunday night’s Game 7 on the road like a familiar stage rather than a pressure cooker, and their composure showed from the opening tip.

That familiarity paid off in full.

Donovan Mitchell led all scorers with 26 points, while Jarrett Allen delivered a second straight dominant series-clinching performance to power Cleveland into the Eastern Conference finals with a commanding 125-94 victory over the Detroit Pistons in Game 7.

Allen controlled the paint, finishing well ahead of Detroit center Jalen Duren, while Sam Merrill added 23 points off the bench to match Allen’s scoring total. Evan Mobley rounded out a strong all-around effort with his first double-double of the series, finishing 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 beginning Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden.

It did not take long for Cleveland to start looking ahead.

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

Overpowering the Pistons in nearly every facet, the Cavaliers built a 20-point lead in the first half, extended it to as many as 26 in the third quarter and coasted into their first Eastern Conference finals appearance since defeating the Boston Celtics in seven games in 2018.

Failing to reach the Eastern Conference finals for the 18th consecutive year, the Pistons watched All-Star guard Cade Cunningham miss all seven of his 3-point attempts in a 13-point outing, while Tobias Harris went 0-for-6 from the field and finished with five points.

In winning a Game 7 for the sixth consecutive time dating to 2008, the Cavaliers outshot the Pistons 50.6% (43 of 85) to 35.3% (30 of 85) and outrebounded them 50-41.

Allen, who had 22 points and 19 rebounds when Cleveland needed a Game 7 to eliminate the Toronto Raptors in the first round, finished with 23 points, including 15 in the first half. He credited Mitchell for the early surge.

“He started out the game not trying to take it over, not trying to score every single basket,” Allen said in a televised on-court interview moments after the final horn. “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 lopsided win gives Cleveland a brief turnaround before opening the next round in New York with just one day of rest.

“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 scored 11. Duren finished with a team-high nine rebounds.

In his postgame news conference, Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff congratulated Cleveland while emphasizing lessons for the future.

“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, we’ll put it in our pocket. We’ll learn from it, and next year we’ll grow and be a better team.”

DAILYSABAH