Jason OwensStaff writer
Sun, May 17, 2026 at 9:08 PM PDT
In this story
Until Sunday, the Detroit Pistons made a living with their backs against the wall in these playoffs as survivors of four elimination games.
Their was no surviving a fifth.
The Cleveland Cavaliers punched first in Sunday’s Game 7, laying out the Pistons on their home court for a 4-3 series victory. Detroit never got off the mat as Cleveland cruised to a dominant 125-94 win over a Detroit team that never mounted a challenge.
With the win, the Cavaliers advance to take on the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference finals. A flawed Pistons team will go into the offseason exposed as No. 1 seed that didn’t advance out of the second round of the playoffs.
It added up to a stunning scene at Little Caesars Arena as Pistons fans started to file out of their seats with most of the fourth quarter remaining. But there was nothing left for them to see as the Cavaliers continued to dominate virtually every aspect of the game.
Cleveland will face New York in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals Tuesday night (8 p.m. ET, ESPN).
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Pistons never recover from early Cavaliers onslaught
Donovan Mitchell opened the game with an alley-oop to Evan Mobley that set the tone. Detroit’s lauded defense that finished the regular season ranked second in defensive rating was a sieve against a Cavaliers offense that thrived in the paint to establish an inside-out attack for which Detroit had no answer.
Mitchell ↗️ Mobley
Cavs/Pistons GAME 7 is LIVE on Prime! pic.twitter.com/VsvwsFKt5I— NBA (@NBA) May 18, 2026
As Mobley and Jarrett Allen feasted inside, Sam Merrill took over from deep with a 4-from-6 start from 3 in the first half. It added up to a 55-35 Cavaliers lead in the second quarter that established an ominous tone for the Pistons.
Per the Prime broadcast, the Cavaliers were 26-0 in games this season in which they held a 20-point lead. They easily cruised to 27-0.
Donovan Mitchell slams the door shut
Detroit’s last realistic chance at making it a game was the start of the third quarter after it cut Cleveland’s lead to 17 points before halftime. But Mitchell scored the first four points of the third and sparked an 11-0 Cavaliers run late in the quarter as he took over on offense.
Mitchell scored 15 of his game-high 26 points in the third quarter, and Cleveland’s lead ballooned to 99-73, squashing any long-shot hope in Detroit of a miracle rally.
Donovan Mitchell is on cruise control in Game 7 🔥
24 PTS | 4 REB | 7 AST pic.twitter.com/Z2zbJFtgWI— BET99 Ontario (@BET99ON) May 18, 2026
Cavs dominate box score
When the final horn sounded, four Cavaliers players had scored 20-plus points.
Mitchell added 8 assists, 6 rebounds, 1 block, 1 steal and 0 turnovers. Allen tallied 23 points, 7 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 block. Mobley posted 21 points, 12 rebounds, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 steals in another stat-stuffing effort.
And Merrill added 23 points off the bench while shooting 5 of 8 from 3.
James Harden was a non-factor as a scorer, tallying 9 points and 6 assists while shooting 2 of 10 from the field and 0 of 6 from 3. But he limited the turnovers that have become a plague of his postseason to one as Cleveland took care of the ball on an efficient night on offense.
The Cavaliers assisted on 31 of their 43 made field goals while limiting their turnovers to 11. They shot 50.6% from the field while securing a 50-41 edge in rebounds and forcing 14 Pistons turnovers.
The final margin would have been more lopsided if not for Cleveland’s struggles (28 of 44, 63.6%) at the free-throw line.
Detroit doesn’t have a No. 2 option
For the Pistons, nobody scored more than 17 points as Detroit continued to fail to find a second reliable offensive option outside of Cade Cunningham. And even Cunningham had little to offer Sunday night.
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Cunningham scored 12 first-half points to keep Detroit’s offense afloat as Tobias Harris went cold. But he didn’t score again until a technical free throw with 5:51 remaining in the game. That cut Cleveland’s lead to 114-81.
He went to the bench from there, the game long decided and his season done. Cunningham finished with 13 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 steals and 3 turnovers. He shot 5 of 16 from the field and missed all seven of his 3-point attempts.
Harris had emerged as Detroit’s No. 2 option in these playoffs with eight games of 20-plus points. But he posted a second straight dud in an elimination game Sunday night, going 0 for 6 from the floor with 5 points, 5 rebounds, 1 block and 1 steal on the heels of a six-point Game 6.
Jalen Duren, projected for his first All-NBA selection after a breakout regular season, was a non-factor on offense while failing to mount a challenge to Allen and Mobley on defense. He finished with 7 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 turnovers.
Daniss Jenkins led the Pistons with 17 points on 4-of-12 shooting, while Duncan Robinson was Detroit’s most efficient scoring option with 13 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field.
The Pistons arrived to the No. 1 seed ahead of schedule, just two seasons removed from a league-worst 14-68 record. But it’s clear from these playoffs that they’ll need to make some significant roster changes in order to compete for an NBA championship.LIVE COVERAGE IS OVER26 updates
- FEATUREDSun, May 17, 2026 at 7:48 PM PDTRyan YoungUp Next: Game 1With their win, the Cavaliers are now officially headed to the Eastern Conference finals. The New York Knicks are waiting.ECF Game 1Knicks vs. Cavaliers
When: Tuesday, May 19 | 8 p.m. ET
Where: Madison Square Garden
TV: ESPN
- Sun, May 17, 2026 at 7:52 PM PDTRyan YoungPistons box scoreDaniss Jenkins
17 points, 5 assists, 4-12 FGCade Cunningham
13 points, 5 assists, 4 reboundsDuncan Robinson
13 points, 1 rebound, 1 assistTeam Stats
35% FG, 31% 3FG, 41 rebounds, 14 turnovers - Sun, May 17, 2026 at 7:51 PM PDTRyan YoungCavaliers box scoreDonovan Mitchell
26 points, 8 assists, 7 reboundsJarrett Allen
23 points, 7 reboundsEvan Mobley
21 points, 12 reboundsTeam Stats
51% FG, 32% 3FG, 50 rebounds, 11 turnovers - Sun, May 17, 2026 at 7:48 PM PDTRyan YoungFinal: Cavaliers 125, Pistons 94The Cavaliers are now headed to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2018.
