Jarrett Allen carried the Cleveland Cavaliers into the Eastern Conference semifinals for the third straight season, while the Detroit Pistons snapped an 18-year drought with their own Game 7 win.
Allen finished with 22 points and 19 rebounds in Cleveland’s 114-102 victory over Toronto, becoming the second player in franchise history to record at least 20 points and 15 rebounds in a Game 7, joining LeBron James. It was Allen’s 11th playoff double-double and matched his postseason scoring high.
‘I had a great time doing it,’ Allen said, describing his first-ever Game 7 experience. He missed much of March with right knee tendonitis but averaged 28.5 minutes, 11.4 points and 8.3 rebounds in the series. Cleveland will look for that level of production as it begins the East semifinal series against Detroit on Tuesday in Detroit.
Evan Mobley stressed the need for consistent contributions: ‘That’s what it’s going to take in the playoffs. There are a lot of guys who stepped up throughout this whole series… we’re going to need that night in and night out.’
In Detroit, Cade Cunningham scored 32 points and dished 12 assists while Tobias Harris added 30 as the Pistons routed the Orlando Magic 116-94 in Game 7. The victory was Detroit’s first playoff-series win since 2008.
The Pistons became the 15th team in NBA history to rally from a 3-1 series deficit and the second to do so on consecutive nights, after Philadelphia eliminated Boston the previous evening. Detroit had trailed by 24 in Game 6 in Orlando before mounting a comeback to force and then win the decisive game. Over the final six quarters of the series, Orlando managed just 113 points—an average of 18.8 points per period.
Cunningham and Harris were the first Pistons teammates to each score 30 in a playoff game since Bob Lanier and Howard Porter did so in 1977.
‘It’s expected,’ Pistons coach JB Bickerstaff said of his team’s resolve. ‘That’s the amount of belief we have in this group. You can’t count us out. No matter the circumstances, I like our chances to fight our way back.’
Both Cleveland and Detroit will carry momentum and fresh questions into their semifinal matchup, setting up a high-stakes series beginning in Detroit on Tuesday.