Cavaliers eliminate No. 1 Pistons in seven

The Cleveland Cavaliers’ series win over Detroit was the upset that reshaped the Eastern Conference bracket. Cleveland, the No. 4 seed, beat the No. 1-seeded Pistons 125-94 in Game 7 on May 17 at Little Caesars Arena to take the second-round series 4-3 and advance to the Eastern Conference finals. Detroit had opened the matchup with back-to-back home wins, 111-101 in Game 1 and 107-97 in Game 2, before Cleveland won four of the next five. The Cavaliers took Game 3, tied the series in Game 4, won Game 5 in overtime, lost Game 6, and then closed the series with a 31-point road win in Game 7. ### How did Cleveland finish the series? Donovan Mitchell led Cleveland in the deciding game with 26 points, according to NBA.com’s game summary and the Associated Press report carried there. (nba.com) Jarrett Allen and Sam Merrill scored 23 points apiece, and Evan Mobley added 21 points and 12 rebounds. The Cavaliers controlled the game early and broke it open in the third quarter. (nba.com) The Associated Press report said Mitchell scored 15 points in that quarter as Cleveland “dictated the pace from the opening tip and never allowed the Pistons to gain traction.” ### Why was the result such a big upset? Detroit finished the regular season 60-22, the best record in the Eastern Conference, while Cleveland entered the playoffs as the No. 4 seed after a 52-30 season. (nba.com) ESPN’s playoff bracket and team pages list the Pistons as the East’s top seed and the Cavaliers as the fourth seed. ESPN’s conference-finals coverage, as reflected in an ABC7 republication of that report, said Cleveland had “prevailed in seven games over the No. 1-seeded Detroit Pistons” before facing New York in the conference finals. (nba.com) That result stood out because the East’s top seed had already survived a seven-game first-round series against Orlando after trailing 3-1. (espn.com) ### What changed after Detroit went up 2-0? Cleveland recovered after dropping the first two games in Detroit. NBA.com’s series page shows the Cavaliers then won Games 3 and 4 at home, stole Game 5 on the road in overtime, and returned to Detroit for the Game 7 clincher after losing Game 6. The series leaders show how central the stars were across the seven games. (abc7ny.com) Donovan Mitchell averaged 28.1 points in the series for Cleveland, while Cade Cunningham averaged 23.9 points and 7.9 assists for Detroit. ### What did the players say afterward? Mitchell said Cleveland had not reached its goal by making the conference finals. “We didn’t just come here just to win a goal,” he said, adding that the team had set its sights on the NBA Finals after last season’s exit. (nba.com) Cade Cunningham gave a blunt assessment from Detroit’s side. “That game sucked,” Cunningham said after the loss, according to the Associated Press report on NBA.com. (nba.com) He said losing at home in Game 7 was “not a great feeling.” ### What happened next in the bracket? New York took a 3-0 lead over Cleveland in the Eastern Conference finals with a 121-108 win on May 23, according to CBS Sports and NBA.com’s conference-finals page. (nba.com) CBS Sports said the Knicks can clinch the East on Sunday, May 24, for their first NBA Finals appearance since 1999. Game 4 of Knicks-Cavaliers is scheduled for Monday, May 25, at 8 p.m. (nba.com) Eastern on ESPN, according to CBS Sports’ conference-finals schedule. The NBA Finals are set to begin on June 3, ESPN’s playoff schedule page says. (cbssports.com)