Cleveland advances to the Eastern Conference Finals

The Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Detroit Pistons 125-94 last night, advancing to the NBA Eastern Conference Finals with a 4-3 aggregate score.

The Cavaliers, who were fourth after the regular season, eliminated the best team in the East and will play against the third-placed New York Knicks in the conference finals.

Cleveland was led to its first conference finals since 2018, and ninth in team history, by Donovan Mitchell with 26 points and Jarrett Allen and Sam Merrill with 23 points each, while Evan Mobley added 21 points and 12 rebounds.

For Detroit, which failed to advance to its first conference finals since 2008, Dennis Jenkins led the way with 17 points, while Cade Dunningham and Duncan Robinson each scored 13 points.

As for the game itself, Cleveland led 31:22 after the first quarter, building a 64:47 lead by halftime. The Cavs continued in the same rhythm in the second half, leading by as many as 35 points, and the closest the Pistons came was by 17 points in the third quarter.

The first game of the Eastern Conference Finals between Cleveland and New York will be played at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night.

Oklahoma and San Antonio meet in the Western Conference finals, and the first match in that series is scheduled for the following night.