Cleveland Cavaliers eliminate top-seeded Detroit Pistons from NBA play-offs

LOS ANGELES - The Cleveland Cavaliers eliminated top-seeded Detroit Pistons from the National Basketball Association (NBA) play-offs on May 17, dominating a decisive game seven 125-94, and will face the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference finals.

Led by Donovan Mitchell’s 26 points, Cleveland’s win makes them the last team to book their spot in this post-season’s final four, with the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs waiting in the West.

The resounding win on the road in Detroit extends an impressive play-off run for the Cavaliers, who also knocked out the Toronto Raptors, after a mediocre regular season in which they finished fourth in the East.

Mitchell was among four Cavs players who scored 20-plus points, along with Jarrett Allen, Evan Mobley, and Sam Merrill from the bench.

“We just knew that we had to get the job done. We knew that we had to bring a lot of force,” said Allen.

“It’s a tough arena to win in, but we knew that every single possession, every single play was super important.”

But it was heartbreak for Detroit, who comfortably topped their conference’s regular season at 60-22, yet underwhelmed throughout their stuttering play-off run, and finally fizzled out in front of their home fans.

The Cavaliers raced as many as 20 points ahead in the first half, their accurate shooting aided by some unusually poor and passive Pistons defence.

Detroit repeatedly missed out on rebounds and allowed uncontested three-pointer attempts, while failing to find their attacking flow.

The Pistons trailed 64-47 at the break. That meant yet another mountain to climb for a team who had already been on the brink of elimination four times this postseason.

Detroit had battled back from 3-1 down to scrape past Orlando in their first-round series, and at 3-2 down against Cleveland had shown resilience to pull back one elimination game on May 15.

But Cleveland would not let the Pistons back into this one, playing with an aggression Detroit could not match, and led by an outstanding Mitchell, who suddenly seemed to be everywhere.

“He started out the game not trying to take it over, not trying to score every single basket,” said Allen.

“He started the game trying to distribute the ball. I think that’s huge for a leader like him, trying to get everybody else going, and then getting himself going second.”

The Cavs led by 26 points at the end of the third quarter, as a shellshocked home crowd began to lose hope and filter out of Little Caesars Arena.

With four minutes remaining, and the win secured, Cleveland withdrew their stars including Mitchell.

Victory sets up Cleveland’s first conference finals appearance since 2018. Their series against the Knicks begins on May 19.

“We know it’s going to be a loud environment, and we know that their fans are incredible fans, crazy fans. But we know that we can do it,” said Allen. AFP