Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – The Cleveland Cavaliers eliminated top-seeded Detroit from the NBA playoffs Sunday, dominating a decisive game seven 125-94, and will face the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference finals. Led by Donovan Mitchell’s 26 points, Cleveland’s victory makes them the last team to book their spot in this post-season’s final four, with the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs waiting in the West.
Mitchell was among four Cavs players who scored 20-plus points, along with Jarrett Allen, Evan Mobley, and Sam Merrill from the bench. The resounding win on the road in Detroit, after missing a chance to end the series at home Friday, extends an impressive playoff run for the Cavaliers, who had a mediocre regular season in which they finished fourth in the East.
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“We responded with force for 48 minutes tonight,” said Mitchell. “Especially in a hostile environment… that was the biggest thing, is just how do you respond? And not letting the moment become too big.”
But it was heartbreak for Detroit, who comfortably topped their conference’s regular season at 60-22, yet underwhelmed throughout their stuttering playoff run, and finally fizzled out in front of their home fans. “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.”
The Cavaliers raced into a 20-point lead during the first half, their accurate shooting aided by some unusually poor and passive Pistons defense. Detroit repeatedly missed out on rebounds and allowed uncontested three-pointer attempts, while failing to find their attacking flow. The Pistons trailed 64-47 at the break. That meant yet another mountain to climb for a team who had already been on the brink of elimination four times this postseason.
Detroit had battled back from 3-1 down to scrape past Orlando in their first-round series, and at 3-2 down against Cleveland had shown resilience to pull back one elimination game on Friday. But Cleveland would not let the Pistons back into this one, playing with an aggression Detroit could not match and led by an outstanding Mitchell, who suddenly seemed to be everywhere.
“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.”
The Cavs led by 26 points at the end of the third quarter, as a shellshocked home crowd began to lose hope and filter out of Little Caesars Arena. With four minutes remaining, and the win secured, Cleveland withdrew their stars including Mitchell. Victory sets up Cleveland’s first conference finals appearance since 2018. Their series begins Tuesday against the Knicks, who won their semi-finals against Philadelphia 4-0.
“I’m not coming out to be in New York just happy that we got here,” said Mitchell. “They’re going to be rested. We got to come in and continue the momentum, go from there.”
© 2024 AFP
