Pistons reach round 2, Cavs await

The East semifinal matchup is set, and it’s a weirdly perfect one. Detroit just finished a 3-1 comeback against Orlando, then Cleveland survived a bruising seven-game series with Toronto a few hours later. So now the Cavaliers get the Pistons — a team that looks both young and annoyingly hard to kill. (espn.com) ### What exactly happened? Detroit handled its part first. The Pistons beat the Magic 116-94 in Game 7 on Sunday, May 3, behind 32 points and 12 assists from Cade Cunningham and 30 points from Tobias Harris. That completed three straight Detroit wins after falling behind 3-1 in the series. (espn.com)over Toronto in its own Game 7. Jarrett Allen was huge — 22 points, 19 rebounds — and the Cavs used a 38-point third quarter to finally break the series open after trailing for much of the first half. (espn.com) ### Why is Detroit the surpri(espn.com)in in 18 years. Detroit hadn’t reached the second round since 2008, and this year’s team was still staring at elimination twice in the first round. Game 6 was the real hinge — the Pistons had to erase a 24-point second-half deficit just to force Game 7. Then they turned the decider into a blowout. (espn.com) That changes how this team feels. Detroit isn’t just “happy to be here” anymore. A group built around Cunningham suddenly has proof that it can win ugly, win late, and recover when a series starts going sideways. (espn.com)anted. Cleveland got through, but Toronto dragged the Cavs into a full seven games and even stole Game 6 on RJ Barrett’s late 3 in overtime. That means Cleveland arrives in Round 2 tested, but also with less margin for error than a smoother first-round winner would have had. (espn.com) Allen’s Game 7 mattered beyond the box score. Cleveland needed a stabilizer, and he gave them one on the glass and around the rim. Donovan Mitchell is still the headline star, but the clincher looked like a reminder that the Cavs don’t advance unless their frontcourt controls the series. (espn.com)contrast. Detroit is the top seed that just had to prove it could survive panic. Cleveland is the lower seed with more established playoff names, but it also looked vulnerable against Toronto. That makes the series feel less like favorite versus underdog and more like two teams arriving by different, equally stressful routes. (espn.com) There’s also a style question hiding underneath. Detroit just showed it can get big games from Cunningham and Harris at the same time. Cleveland just showed it can win when Allen dominates the interior. Usually these series turn on the simple thing — whose best strength still works once the other side has a week to scheme for it. (espn.com) ### Has the series already started? Yes. Game 1 was May 5, and Detroit won 111-101 in Cleveland. Cunningham scored 23 points, giving the Pistons an immediate road win and an early edge in the matchup. So the “Cavs await” part is already outdated — the series is underway, and Detroit landed the first punch. (nba.com)sn’t just that Detroit reached Round 2. It’s that the Pistons got there by surviving the hardest version of the first round, then walked straight into Cleveland and kept going. The Cavs are still very much in this, but the easy read on the bracket is gone now. (nba.com)