{"id":737426,"date":"2026-05-18T08:33:19","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T08:33:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/737426\/"},"modified":"2026-05-18T08:33:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T08:33:19","slug":"cavaliers-thrash-pistons-to-reach-eastern-finals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/737426\/","title":{"rendered":"Cavaliers thrash Pistons to reach Eastern finals"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Cleveland Cavaliers<\/a> thrashed top seeds the Detroit<\/a> Pistols 125-94 in their series decider to secure a place in the NBA Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2018.<\/p>\n

Donovan Mitchell scored 26 points, Sam Merrill<\/a> and Jarrett Allen<\/a> 23 and Evan Mobley<\/a> 21 for the Cavaliers, while Daniss Jenkins<\/a> was the Pistons<\/a>‘ highest scorer with 17.<\/p>\n

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Cleveland, who lost the first two games of the series, raced into a 20-point lead in the first half before wrapping up a 4-3 series win at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.<\/p>\n

The fourth seeds will face third seeds the New York Knicks<\/a> for a place in the NBA Finals,<\/a> with game one at Madison Square Garden in New York at 01:00 BST on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

“This is fantastic. But we’ve got to be more disciplined,” Mitchell said.<\/p>\n

“We shouldn’t have to wait to get hit, to get punched in the mouth and face a go-home situation.”<\/p>\n

Detroit, who finished the regular season with a 60-22 record, have not reached the Eastern Conference finals since 2005.<\/p>\n

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The Cavaliers or Knicks will play the Oklahoma City Thunder<\/a> or the San Antonio Spurs<\/a> in the NBA Finals.<\/p>\n

The Western Conference finals begin at 01:30 BST on Tuesday in Oklahoma<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Gilgeous-Alexander wins second straight MVP<\/p>\n

Oklahoma guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander<\/a> became the 14th player in NBA history to win back-to-back Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards.<\/p>\n

The 27-year-old is the first player to do so since Denver Nuggets<\/a> centre Nikola Jokic<\/a> in 2021 and 2022, and the first guard since Golden State Warriors<\/a>‘ Stephen Curry<\/a> in 2015 and 2016.<\/p>\n

“It’s special – not really for me personally but more so for the city and organisation,” Gilgeous-Alexander said.<\/p>\n

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He received 83 first-place votes and won with 939 points in a ballot of 100 voters.<\/p>\n

Jokic finished second and Spurs centre Victor Wembanyama<\/a> third.<\/p>\n

After signing a four-year contract extension worth a reported $285m (\u00a3214m) in the off-season, Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 31.1 points, 6.6 assists and 4.3 rebounds in 68 games as Oklahoma finished the regular season with a 64-18 record.<\/p>\n

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