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Recap: Cleveland Advances to ECF After Dominant Game 7 Win

Cleveland Cavaliers win by 31 to advance to ECF

NBA.com Staff

Donovan Mitchell and James Harden guide Cleveland to lopsided road victory in Game 7 versus the Detroit Pistons. (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)

Final score 👇

Cavaliers 125, Pistons 94 (CLE wins series 4-3)

11:15 PM ET / May 17

What we know after Sunday’s Game 7 📝

Back to the drawing board for Detroit: After the best regular season the team has seen in decades, this postseason confirms that the Pistons need a shakeup in order to compete with the league’s best. Cade Cunningham proved that he’s an elite player in this league, but will need more offensive firepower around him.

Ausar Thompson’s defense was exceptional, but his offense borders liability. Jalen Duren shrunk during the playoffs, but wasn’t seen as an offensive hub to begin with. Daniss Jenkins finished his rookie campaign strong, but isn’t ready to go toe-to-toe with the best players in the league. Whatever moves are made, Detroit has to do what they can to improve their ceiling with Cade Cunningham and company.

Cleveland looks the part of a Finals contender: The deal to acquire James Harden at the trade deadline was a clear indicator that the Cavaliers goal was a championship. The team relinquished a young and talented Darius Garland in order to make the move. While Harden wasn’t the x-factor in this series, his presence, experience and skillset has upgraded the team’s arsenal. Playing beside Donovan Mitchell, the backcourt tandem is a load to prepare for – which disguises their bigs who can be equally dangerous.

The duo of Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen was superb in Game 7, finishing with a combined 44 points, 19 rebounds, three steals and three blocks. The bigs did damage on the interior, leaving Detroit vulnerable from deep where Sam Merrill made a living Sunday with five made triples. The Cavaliers have the star power, shot making, defenders and chemistry it takes to go all the way. It will be fun to see how that dynamic is tested by the New York Knicks.

Highlights 🎥

10:38 PM ET / May 17

Starters pulled

As this game crosses the 5:00 mark in the fourt quarter, coaches have begun to pull their star players. It comes as Cleveland leads by 32, 118-86 in a runaway Game 7 effort.

The Cavaliers have four 20+ point scorers tonight.

10:10 PM ET / May 17

Donovan dances & drills 3 🎯, Cavs up 26

Hopes of a comeback have dwindled for Detroit fans, after falling behind even more in the third frame. Cleveland is rolling on all cylinders and 12 minutes away from advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals.

9:50 PM ET / May 17

Cavs fans making the trip 🚎

Cleveland owner Dan Gilbert has roots in the city of Detroit, as explained during tonight’s broadcast. He made the decision to send roughly 25 busloads of fans to tonight’s Game 7 with tickets and transportation costs covered.

The extra presence definitely hasn’t hurt, as the Cavaliers are in total control with 6:40 remaining in the 3rd quarter.

9:39 PM ET / May 17

Cleveland continues run in 2H

Detroit has two quarters to turn things around in hopes of extending its season, but its gotten off to a rough start. The Cavaliers have put together an 8-2 scoring run in the opening minutes, extending the lead to 23 and forcing a J.B. Bickerstaff timeout at the 10:12 mark of the third quarter.

9:25 PM ET / May 17

Cavs in control ⏳

Detroit trails 64-47 at halftime of Game 7. They’ll need a major rebound in the second half in order to slow down Cleveland’s offense and generate some of their own. The deficit could be larger if Cleveland converted more free throw attempts. The Cavaliers are 12-20 from the charity stripe.

Jarrett Allen and Sam Merrill are the game’s leading scorers with 15 points each, while Evan Mobley has 12 points. Donovan Mitchell has added another 11 points and six assists. Meanwhile, Cade Cunningham is the only Detroit player in double figures with 12 points.

9:18 PM ET / May 17

Representing for the North 🇨🇦

Just a pair of back-to-back MVPs.

9:11 PM ET / May 17

Sam Merrill 15 points off the bench 🔥

Cleveland has made twice as many threes than Detroit has tonight, thanks in large to a great showing from Sam Merrill. He has four of the Cavs’ eight makes from distance, including a 4-point-play midway through the second quarter.

The Pistons trail by 20, 55-35 with 2:53 remaining in the first half.

8:55 PM ET / May 17

Detroit’s offense sputtering amid 10-0 CLE run

The Pistons are trying to end a three-minute scoreless stretch to prevent this one from getting out of hand. Cleveland’s offense is beginning to click, with bench players nailing threes, Donovan Mitchell creating shots for others, and the big guys dominating the paint.

The Cavaliers lead 41-26 with 7:30 to play in the 2nd quarter. Detroit is shooting 33.3% compared to Cleveland’s 50% from the field.

8:42 PM ET / May 17

Mitchell banks it at the buzzer from the logo 😳

Cleveland ends the quarter with a bang, thanks to Donovan Mitchell sinking a heave from just inside half-court. It counts as the Cavaliers’ 6th made three, and matches their largest lead of the game going into the first quarter break. Detroit trails 31-22.

8:36 PM ET / May 17

Mobley bailout 3

With the shot-clock expiring, Evan Mobley salvaged an unraveling possession with a calm dagger from the right wing. The team that has made more three pointers has won the last five games in this series, so that will be something to follow throughout the matchup.

Sam Merrill has also drilled a pair of triples off the bench for Cleveland.

8:22 PM ET / May 17

A frenzied pace to open the game has cooled roughly five minutes into the opening quarter. Cleveland scored a quick eight points, six of which coming via dunks. They’ve missed the next six shots, but still lead Detroit 8-7 at the first timeout with 6:34 remaining.

8:15 PM ET / May 17

Game 7 tips off

Donovan Mitchell found Evan Mobley for a clean two-handed alley-oop flush to open up play immediately following the opening tip. On the other side, Daniss Jenkins answered with a three-pointer to bring the home crowd to its feet.

8:06 PM ET / May 17

2nd MVP for 2️⃣🏆

Oklahoma CIty’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the Kia MVP for the second year in a row, after guiding the Thunder to a league-best 64 wins and never finishing a game with fewer than 20 points scored. He joined Michael Jordan as the only guards with at least 30+ PPG on 50+ FG% in four straight years, showcasing his excellent combination of scoring and efficiency.

7:55 PM ET / May 17

Can Cade keep it up?

Cade Cunningham enters tonight’s game leading the league in playoffs points per game (29.3). Tobias Harris has been the team’s second-most reliable scorer, averaging 19.1 points per game across 13 contests. The team as a whole is only scoring 105.8 points on average during the playoffs, while Cleveland’s higher-powered offense is averaging 119.5 points.

7:45 PM ET / May 17

Starting Lineups 👇

Meet the first five for each team tonight, starting with the visiting Cavaliers. James Harden, Donovan Mitchell, Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley have started every playoff game this year for Cleveland, while Max Strus is only starting for the second time replacing Dean Wade.

Similarly, Daniss Jenkins is only making his second start of the postseason for Detroit this postseason. He joins Cade Cunningham, Jalen Duren, Tobias Harris and Ausar Thompson.

Tonight’s NBA.com Live Blog follows a pressure-packed Game 7 between the Pistons and Cavaliers. Top-seeded Detroit jumped out to a 2-0 series lead, but Cleveland would win the ensuing three games, including an overtime road victory in Game 5. Cleveland staved off elimination in Game 6, setting up today’s showdown.

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