by DETROIT, MI – Donovan Mitchell and the Cleveland Cavaliers earned their biggest win in the post LeBron Era ( Part Two ) with a dominating Game Seven performance tonight in Detroit. Mitchell led the Cavaliers with 26 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assist night in a dominant Cleveland 125-94 win. The Cavaliers outhustled, outshot and flat out outplayed the Pistons all night long.
The Cavaliers came out of the gate, red hot and never looked back. They jumped out to a 31-22 lead after one and that was the closest it would be for the rest of the night. The combination of Mitchells hot hand with the inside dominance of Jarrett Allen and Mobley inside was too much for any team to handle.
Allen and Mobley manhandled everyone down ow as Allen had his second consecutive huge game 7 with a masterful 23 points night to go with 7 rebounds and a block, all coming in the first 3 quarters. Mobley was smooth with his usual double double night as he finished with 21 points and 12 rebounds to go with 6 assists. As I always say, when Mobley doubles up, the Cavaliers win. Perhaps the biggest push for the early lead came off the bench in the form of Sam Merrill with a wicked 23 points as he nailed 5 three pointers.
The Cavaliers had the right mix and the hot hand all night long. They were also smart with the ball as James Harden only committed 1 turnover to go with 9 points, a series low in turnovers for Harden who has been plagued with them in the postseason.
Cleveland outrebounded Detroit 50-41 to go with sinking 11 from deep for 33 huge points. The Cleveland defense was incredible too as they held Cade Cunningham to just 13 points and took the wind out of the sales of Detroit early.
The Cavaliers led by 11 after one and then by 19 at halftime. Any chance Detroit had of getting back in the game evaporated quickly as Cleveland began the third red hot and put them away for good. At one point in the third, Cleveland went on a 11-0 run which all part of them leading 99- 73 after three, putting the game away. Mitchell was unstoppable in the third with the bulk of his 26 points coming in the third.
Cleveland will travel to take on the New York Knicks in a series that will begin Tuesday night. The Knicks are coached by former Cleveland Cavaliers coach Mike Brown and have been on a roll. The Knicks are fresh off a four game sweep of the 76ers and 8-2 in the playoffs with ease while the Cavaliers are now 8-6 after seeing both series get pushed to 7 games.
