Cavs Merely Escape the Pistons

The 2026 Eastern Conference Semifinals between the Detroit Pistons and the Cleveland Cavaliers felt like a bloodbath with stars Cade Cunningham from the Pistons and Donovan Mitchell from the Cavs going head-to-head every night. 

With Detroit holding the number one seed in the East, they had home court advantage for the first two games. Cunningham and the Pistons absolutely erupted in game 1, scoring 37 points in just the first quarter. Cunningham commanded the court all night with 23 points and seven assists while the rest of his teammates hounded the Cavs on defense, forcing them to throw 22 turnovers, with James Harden throwing seven of them. Mitchell ended with 23 points alongside Cunningham, but the turnover ratio was so bad that it led to the Cavs going down 0-1 in a 101-111 loss.

Game two was much the same, with the Cavs yet again losing by 10, but Mitchell decided to turn up the heat, scoring 31 points. Cleveland kept their turnovers to a minimum this game with only 11, but they couldn’t keep up, especially late in the fourth quarter. Cunningham finished with a double-double of 25 points and 10 assists, while Jarrett Allen tried to combat that with 22 points for himself. Yet again, though the Cavs got hounded on defense by All-Defense First Team Ausar Thompson. Thompson this year led the league in steals and forced Cleveland into a bad shooting night as they went 7 for 32 beyond the arc. With the Pistons up 2-0 on the series after the 107-97 win for game 2, they were looking to sweep the Cavs on the road. 

Facing the possibility of going down 3-0, Cleveland decided to finally fight back in front of their home crowd for game three. Cunningham recorded a triple-double of 27 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists, but it wasn’t enough for the Pistons as the Cavs fired on all cylinders to keep their season alive. Mitchell led all scores with 35 and was finally aided with some more help with Harden having 19, Allen had 18, and Evan Mobley dropping in 13. The game was close all the way to the end, but Cleveland’s offense was too overwhelming for Detroit as they had a better shooting night, shooting 58.1% from the field to secure game three in a 116-109 win to bring the series to 1-2. 

Remaining on their home court and on a high from the win, the Cavs pushed to tie the series up in game four. In this game, Mitchell erupted for 43 points, shooting 50% from the field alone. Detroit had 18 turnovers, and Cunningham struggled offensively, which slowed his whole team down, unfortunately. Detroit allowed Harden to score a quick 11 points in the beginning to add to his 24-point total; the game felt like the Pistons were struggling to fight back all night. But despite the struggle, they only lost by nine points, 103-112, evening the series out at 2-2. 

Traveling back to Detroit for game five, the Pistons searched for something to allow them to control the series again. The Pistons led for most of the game with Cunningham leading the way with his 39 points, but Cleveland rallied together to force overtime. Daniss Jenkins from the Pistons tried to aid Cunningham with his own 19 points, but it wasn’t enough as five Cavs players scored in double digits; those five combined for 106 points alone. Exhausted in overtime, the Pistons gave up yet another game, allowing for the Cavs to control the series now 3-2.

Back in Cleveland for game six, the Pistons shook off the 117-113 overtime loss from the previous game and refused to let the Cavs shut them out like this. Both Mitchell and Cunningham were quiet with 18 and 21 points, but their teams stepped up to provide more scoring. The Pistons had six players in double digits for scoring and tightened up their defense, recording six blocks across four different players. They also forced Cleveland to throw 20 turnovers, which they converted into 28 points. The Pistons also dominated the glass, cleaning up at any chance they could to win 115-94 and force a game seven.

Game seven was booming with anticipation as Detroit had homecourt once again. Hopes were high that the Pistons would make the conference finals, but that dream came crashing down as Cleveland dominated straight from the start. The young Detroit team began to crumble under the pressure, and Cunningham hit a wall against the Cavs’ defense, only scoring 13 points. Cleveland’s offense looked like a well-oiled machine as everyone got ball touches and scored efficiently while playing elite defense on Cunningham. With the Pistons having no answers on offense, they ultimately lost 125-94. A devastating number to look at for Pistons fans. 

With their comeback to take the semifinals from the number one seed Detroit, Cleveland is moving on to play the New York Knicks for the Conference Finals. Will they be able to stop the Knicks, who have swept every team in the off-season so far? Or will they become the next team that faces their broom?