By Oliver Carter
The Detroit Pistons hosted the Cleveland Cavaliers for a win-or-go-home Game 7 in their Eastern Conference second-round matchup.
The Cavaliers came out on top, 125-94, in an embarrassing home loss for the Pistons at Little Caesars Arena.
Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen and Sam Merrill all ended with over 20 points for the Cavaliers, while zero members of the Pistons reached 20.
Setting the tone early
The Cavaliers started firing from the jump, immediately showing their game plan, to play hard and fast offensive possessions.
Donovan Mitchell was asked about how the Cavaliers were able to set the tone from the opening tip.
“I think the biggest thing is just, you know, a response from Game 6, right. I think at the end of the day, we did a lot of really good things for three and a half games, right?”
When asked about the first quarter deficit, Cade Cunningham responded, saying: “It felt like early on some of the plays were just, you know, bad bounces, miscommunications giving up easy points. It felt like something we’d be able to fix and we just never got it together.”
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Cavaliers star performers
Cleveland had four top-draw performers, with Jarrett Allen taking the most acclaim from his team-mates.
Donovan Mitchell spoke about his impact, saying: “He’s just gonna be who he is for us, and we know who he is for us, and I think that’s the biggest thing, man. Like, the narratives are gonna be the narratives.
“So I’m always happy for his success. This is his second Game 7, and I joke with him. I was like, man, like, this is who you are now. Like, Game 7 JA, right?”
Allen responded by singing the praises of Mitchell, saying: “That’s huge. Especially for the leading scorer of our team to come out with a mindset not to score the ball, but to get everybody else going.
“I think that really set the tone for the game for us offensively. And Donovan, he can go get a bucket at any time. We all believe that.”
Mitchell was also asked about Sam Merril and the impact he makes on the team.
“I think a lot of times it gets overlooked and I think you see a plus 22 tonight, outside of just having 23 points like him being on the floor,” he said.
“I even got into it with Kenny when he took him out. I was like, man, keep me on the floor, right? Like, it’s just one of those things where you just want him out there.”
Pistons disappointed by the game, not the season
While the Pistons have been eliminated, Head Coach JB Bickerstaff is not disappointed by how the season has gone.
“It’s not a disappointment at all,” Bickerstaff said. “Not ever will I be disappointed in these guys.
“These guys every single day give us what they got. So it is not a disappointment. It’s a loss, and it’s a tough loss. But that adjective will never be used.”
Cunningham added onto his coach’s comments, saying: “He’s right, we had a great year, we grew a lot from last year and that was the whole goal of the season, to grow and become a better team than last year.”
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