Cavaliers clinch Eastern Conference finals after Game 7 win; Donovan Mitchell stars

Donovan Mitchell scored 26 points on Sunday night as the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Detroit Pistons 125-94 in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, sending Cleveland to the conference finals for the first time since 2018. Jarrett Allen and Sam Merrill added 23 points each for the fourth-seeded Cavaliers at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. (sports.yahoo.com) The loss ended a postseason run for the top-seeded Pistons, who had forced a deciding game after extending the series deep into the second round. Cleveland will face the New York Knicks next, with Game 1 set for Tuesday in New York. ### How did Cleveland take control so quickly? (sports.yahoo.com) Cleveland opened with a 31-22 first quarter lead, according to live coverage from The Athletic, and never let Detroit back into the game. Mitchell’s long buzzer-beater at the end of the first quarter pushed the Cavaliers’ lead to nine and set the tone for the rest of the night. The Cavaliers kept widening the margin from there. By the end of the game, Cleveland had turned the deciding matchup into a 31-point win on the road, one of the most lopsided Game 7 results of this postseason. (sports.yahoo.com) ### Which Cavaliers supplied the scoring behind Mitchell? Mitchell finished with 26 points, while Allen and Merrill scored 23 each, giving Cleveland three players with at least 20 points. Cleveland.com reported that Mitchell also had seven rebounds, eight assists and no turnovers in the win. (nytimes.com) Sam Merrill’s scoring was especially important for a Cavaliers team that needed secondary offense behind Mitchell. The Athletic’s live report highlighted Mitchell’s shotmaking early, while local and national recaps showed Cleveland getting balanced production across the lineup as the game got out of reach. (sports.yahoo.com) ### What ended Detroit’s season? Detroit entered Game 7 as the East’s top seed, but the Pistons could not match Cleveland’s offense or recover after falling behind early. The Associated Press recap carried by Yahoo and NBA.com said the Cavaliers ousted the conference’s No. 1 seed with the 125-94 result. (sports.yahoo.com) The defeat also closed a turnaround season under coach J.B. Bickerstaff. Recent coverage before Game 7 described Detroit as the East’s best regular-season team, but Cleveland controlled the decisive game from the opening quarter. (nytimes.com) ### What was notable about where viewers watched Game 7? Amazon Prime Video carried the game as part of its NBA package, according to Prime Video listings for the series and pregame coverage about how to watch the matchup. The user-provided Athletic live blog also said the Game 7 stream was exclusive to Prime Video on Sunday. (sports.yahoo.com) The broadcast arrangement made the deciding game part of Amazon’s expanded NBA presence this postseason. Prime Video listings for earlier games in the series showed the platform carrying Cavaliers-Pistons playoff coverage during the conference semifinals. (sports.yahoo.com) ### What comes next for Cleveland? The Knicks are next for Cleveland in the Eastern Conference finals. Multiple reports published after Game 7 said the series will begin Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden. Cleveland’s next milestone is that opener in New York, where the Cavaliers will try to reach the NBA Finals out of the Eastern Conference bracket. (primevideo.com) The schedule published after Sunday’s result lists the Knicks as Cleveland’s conference finals opponent. (wkyc.com) (sports.yahoo.com)