The Cleveland Cavaliers put up an excellent game in the Game 7, resulting in their first appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals since 2018, Yankee Scores reports…
Mitchell scored 26 points, with Jarret Allen and Sam Merrill scoring 23 points each, which allowed the Cavaliers to win against the Detroit Pistons with a score of 125-94 in the Game 7 and qualify for the Eastern Conference finals.
Cavaliers vs Knicks
With this win, the fourth-seed Cavaliers knocked out the Pistons, and now they are set to face the New York Knicks in the Game 1 on Tuesday in Madison Square Garden.
The 21-point, 12-rebound performance by Evan Mobley propelled the Cavaliers to their first-ever Eastern Conference finals appearance since 2018 and their ninth overall.
“We didn’t just come here just to win a goal,” Mitchell said about making the conference finals for the first time in his career.
“Even last year. when we lost to Indiana, we had our goals set on getting to the (NBA) Finals. We’re just one step closer. It’s been almost a decade of running into the same issue. … As a team, we can breathe a little bit, but the same token, we can only breathe for about 12 hours, and then get right back to it.”
It’s Spida’s world, and we’re just living in it.@spidadmitchell | #LetEmKnow pic.twitter.com/PolGaCM1fC
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) May 18, 2026
Heartbreak and Reflection in Detroit
Daniss Jenkins scored a team-high of 17 for the Pistons, followed by Cade Cunningham and Duncan Robinson with 13 each. After clinching Game 6 on Friday night, the Pistons came close to reaching their first conference finals since 2008 after earning a Game 7.
“That game sucked,” said Cunningham, who was held 16 points under his playoff average. “Being back home, wanted to get this win in front of our fans. It reminded me of last year, losing on home court. It’s not a great feeling.”
A Total Paint and Perimeter Takeover
The Cavaliers took charge right from the beginning of the game and extended that lead through the entire game with their Game 7 victory, with Mitchell scoring 15 in the third quarter.
The Pistons got outplayed inside the paint at 58-34 and shot only 35.3% from the field, as opposed to the 50.6% shooting by the Cavaliers.
Uno makin’ it look EASY. @JHarden13 | #LetEmKnow pic.twitter.com/VOsNWmJvkn
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) May 18, 2026
“When we play with force, it’s really a key. Like, force on both ends with our talent, we’re really hard to beat,” Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson said. “The question we got to answer, we talked about it a lot, is we can’t have force letdowns like Game 6, where we were not the forceful team. But tonight we were, that was a whole difference, our force on both ends.”
The 24-9 First-Half Blitz
Cleveland capitalized on the poor start made by Detroit, capitalizing on the Pistons’ misses to transition quickly and score to gain a lead. When the second half started, Cleveland led by a score of 31-22. In fact, during the next few minutes, Cleveland scored 24 points unanswered against 9 points by the Pistons.
The Cavaliers maintained their control in the second half, eventually leading by as much as 35 points.
“We knew that start was monumental, the start that they knew that we were here, and that we were going to give them some problems,” Atkinson said. “The beginning of the game, that was key, and then coming out of halftime was the same message: ‘We got to win this first five minutes to put them on their on their heels.'”
