THE Cleveland Cavaliers routed the Detroit Pistons, 125-94, in Game 7 on Monday, May 18, 2026 (PH time) to advance to the Eastern Conference finals, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
Four Cleveland players scored at least 20 points, led by Donovan Mitchell with 26. Jarrett Allen and Sam Merrill added 23 points each, while Evan Mobley finished with 21 points and 12 rebounds.
The Cavaliers reached the conference finals for the first time since 2018 and will next face the New York Knicks, with Game 1 set for Wednesday in New York.
Cleveland established control early, taking a 31-22 lead after the first quarter before unleashing a decisive 24-9 run in the second period to build a commanding 64-47 halftime advantage.
The Cavaliers continued to dominate after the break and stretched their lead to as many as 35 points.
“We didn’t just come here to win a goal,” Mitchell said after the game.
“It’s been almost a decade of running into the same issue,” he added. “As a team, we can breathe a little bit, but at the same time, we can only breathe for about 12 hours, and then get right back to it.”
For Detroit, Daniss Jenkins scored 17 points, while Cade Cunningham and Duncan Robinson chipped in 13 points apiece.
“That game sucked,” said Cunningham, who was held 16 points under his playoff average. “Being back home, wanted to get this win in front of our fans. It reminded me of last year, losing on home court. It’s not a great feeling.”
The Pistons were outscored in the paint 58-34 and made only 35.3 percent of its field goal attempts, compared to Cleveland’s 50.6 percent.
NBA MVP
Earlier, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder was named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player for the second straight year, becoming the 14th player in league history to win back-to-back MVP awards.
According to Xinhua, Gilgeous-Alexander guided the Thunder to a league-best 64 regular-season victories while averaging 31.1 points per game, second only to Luka Doncic of the Los Angeles Lakers, who averaged 33.5 points.
Gilgeous-Alexander also extended his NBA-record streak of regular-season games with at least 20 points to 140, a run he is expected to continue next season. / LBG
