Cavaliers win Game 7 to advance — will face Pistons in NBA second round

Cleveland is through, but the bigger story is how it got there. The Cavaliers looked shaky for a half, trailed Toronto into the break, then came out of halftime and basically ripped the series away in a few minutes. That 114-102 Game 7 win on Sunday, May 3, sends them into the Eastern Conference semifinals against Detroit. And now the bracket gives us a weirdly fitting matchup — one team that survived a scare, and another that just pulled off a comeback of its own. (espn.com) ### What changed in Game 7? The game turned right after halftime. Cleveland opened the third quarter on a 9-0 run, with Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley helping flip a first-half deficit into control. Toronto had led the entire first half, but once the Cavs found pace and got cleaner looks, the Raptors spent the rest of the night chasing. (espn.com) ### Who actually carried Cleveland? Jarrett Allen was the anchor. He put up 22 points and 19 rebounds, matching his playoff career high in scoring and owning the glass when Cleveland needed extra possessions. Mitchell gave them the shot creation, but Allen was (espn.com)code. (africa.espn.com) ### Why does the halftime swing matter so much? Because it says something real about Cleveland. A team can win a Game 7 by getting hot early and hanging on. This was different. The Cavaliers got punched first, adjusted, and then controlled the more desperate parts (africa.espn.com)ame 7, 116-94 over Orlando, after trailing that series 3-1. (nba.com) ### So what is this next series, really? It’s a contrast series. Cleveland has the higher-end star shotmaking with Mitchell and a front line built around Allen and Mobley. Detroit brings momentum and a little chaos — the kind you get from surviving elimination three straight times. Cade Cunningham led the Pistons with 32 points in their(nba.com) a normal lower seed usually carries into the second round. (nba.com) ### When do they play? Game 1 is set for Tuesday, May 5, in Cleveland. The Round 2 schedule is already up on NBA team and league pages, with Rocket Arena opening the series before it shifts to Detroit later in the week. That quick turnaround is the catch — neither team gets much time to reset after a seven-game first round. (nba.com) Detroit a real problem? Because comeback teams are annoying in exactly the right way. They defend harder, they stop panicking, and every close stretch starts to feel familiar instead of scary. Cleveland should still like the matchup on paper. But “on paper” stops meaning much once both teams have already lived through a winner-take-all night. (espn.com) ### What should you watch first? Watch the paint. Allen’s rebounding binge was the clearest reason Cleveland survived Toronto, and Detroit’s path gets much tougher if the Cavs own the glass again. Then watch Cunningham against Cleveland’s length. If Detroit can keep that matchup from turning into a grind, this gets interesting fast. (africa.espn.com) ### Bottom line Cleveland advanced, but not with some effortless top-seed cruise. The Cavs had to solve a real Game 7, and now they get a Pistons team that did the same thing — only louder. That makes this second-round series feel less like a formality and more like the point where the East gets honest. (espn.com)