The Detroit Pistons’ season is over.
In a dominant performance from the visitors, the 4-seed Cleveland Cavaliers beat the 1-seed Detroit Pistons 125-94 in a do-or-die Game 7 on Sunday, May 17, at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. With the win, the Cavs advance to play the 3-seed New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference finals, while the Pistons are knocked out of the playoffs with the loss.
Detroit’s defense had nothing for a red-hot Cavs team two days after limiting Cleveland to just 94 points in a Game 6 win, allowing a playoff career-high in scoring for Cavs center Jarrett Allen with two other Cavs players scoring at least 23 points. The Pistons’ offense was even worse, shooting XX% from the field with the Pistons down by 26 points at the end of three quarters.
The Pistons did well in forcing a Game 7 for the second series in a row, but unlike the first-round series against the Orlando Magic, couldn’t complete the series win after trailing 3-2. And after a 60-win regular season, the Pistons will have many questions to answer in the offseason.
Here’s how Detroit’s final game of the 2025-26 season went down.
Cavs win Game 7, Pistons eliminated
FINAL: Cavs 125, Pistons 94.
And that is the end.
The Cavs dominated the Pistons throughout and cruised to a Game 7 win, with Detroit playing their worst postseason game of the past two years. They will play the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference finals, with Game 1 at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday.
Cade Cunningham exits with one 2nd half point
4Q, 5:24: Cavs 116, Pistons 81.
Cade Cunningham was subbed out midway through the fourth quarter to a small ovation and a handshake from coach J.B. Bickerstaff. He likely won’t see the court for the rest of the game.
Cunningham shot 5-for-16 for 13 points and didn’t score a bucket in the second half. This Pistons (presumed) loss isn’t entirely on Cunningham, but Detroit needed a big night from their best player and did not get one. And if he doesn’t re-enter, it will mark the lowest-scoring playoff game of his career.
Pistons approaching history (in a bad way)
4Q, 7:48: Cavs 110, Pistons 76.
This may be pouring salt in the wound for Pistons fans, but history is history, nonetheless.
The worst Game 7 loss in NBA history belongs to the Houston Rockets, who lost 116-76 to the Dallas Mavericks in Game 7 of the first round of the 2005 Western Conference playoffs. That’s a 40 point difference the Cavs could very easily stretch over the Pistons in this game.
And for the record, the previous worst Game 7 loss in franchise history was just 7 points. Woof.
Cavs still up big, Pistons season on the line
End 3Q: Cavs 99, Pistons 73.
The Pistons defense has been getting worse each quarter, allowing 31 points in the first quarter, 33 points in the second and 35 points in the third. And after only allowing 94 points to the Cavs in Game 6, the Pistons nearly gave up 100 through three quarters in Game 7.
A quick correction on the “no Pistons are playing well” assertion from an earlier update – guard Duncan Robinson is playing well, at least offensively, shooting 3-for-4 from beyond the 3-point line and leading the Pistons with 13 points. But it’s a real problem if Robinson has shot only four 3-pointers and leads the team in scoring through three quarters.
The Pistons are 12 minutes away from finishing their season with a Game 7 loss. Many fans at LCA aren’t sticking around to watch it, either, with rows and rows trickling out of the arena.
Jarrett Allen has a playoff career-high
3Q, 5:24: Cavs 81, Pistons 66.
During his pregame news conference, Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson had this to say about his center.
“When Jarrett Allen plays well, we usually win. It seems that way, anyway.”
Well guess what: Jarrett Allen is playing well, leading all scorers with 23 points on 8-for-14 shooting and adding seven rebounds to his statline so far. And after his made free throw and dunk on back-to-back possessions out of the timeout, he has now set his playoff career-high with 23 points.
Is any Piston playing well?
3Q, 6:44: Cavs 74, Pistons 56.
This is usually the part of the blog that goes, “Well, the Pistons may be playing badly, but at least this player is doing well!”
Except that’s not the case here. Cade Cunningham is still the only Pistons player in double figures, and 12 points on 13 shot attempts is no one’s idea of efficient. The only starter who has made more than half his shot attempts is Jalen Duren (six points on 3-for-5 shooting), but he has also picked up four personal fouls. Ausar Thompson has made a few impact plays on defense but has been a liability on offense, and even Paul Reed didn’t bring his usual spark in his limited playing time.
Put simply: all the Pistons are playing poorly. Daniss Jenkins may be playing the least poorly, but with only eight points in the game and not much to offer on defense, that’s not saying much.
Cavs extend lead early in third quarter
3Q, 10:12: Cavs 72, Pistons 49.
The Pistons were down by 17 at halftime, and now find themselves down by 23 after three Cavs makes to just one of their own.
It’s going from bad to ugly real quick, and Detroit called a quick timeout to regroup.
Pistons down big at halftime
HALFTIME: Cavs 64, Pistons 47.
A Cade Cunningham layup out of the break cut Cleveland’s lead to 18, while a Duncan Robinson 3-pointer chipped away at Cleveland’s lead a little bit more.
But Cleveland had responses for each Detroit bucket, bringing its lead back to 20 points after a Jarrett Allen make and-one and to 21 points after and Evan Mobley make and-one.
Allen, by the way, is now tied with Merril for the scoring lead with 15 points, while Donovan Mitchell has 11 for the Cavs. Cade Cunningham is the only Pistons player in double figures with 12 points, though he’s done so on an inefficient 5-for-10 from the floor. It is not looking good for Detroit right now.
Cavs up by 20
2Q, 2:53: Cavs 55, Pistons 35.
Caris LeVert came out of the timeout with a 3-pointer, the fourth one the Pistons have made so far this game. A Cade Cunningham steal then led to a fastbreak, but Duncan Robinson was called for an offensive foul on the other end after hitting Cavs guard Dennis Schröder in the face.
The analysis for this game is pretty simple: the Cavs are making shots and the Pistons aren’t. Detroit is contesting Cleveland’s 3-pointers and the Pistons are finding good shot opportunities on the inside, but the shots simply aren’t falling for Detroit.
Sam Merril leads all scorers with 15 points off the bench as he is shooting 4-for-6 from 3-point land. But forgetting a secondary scoring option, the Pistons don’t even have a primary scoring option at the moment, with Cade Cunningham leading all Pistons with eight points (on 3-for-7 shooting) and LeVert pitching in seven.
But if the Pistons are to have a chance to advance, they need better offensive production from their star point guard.
Pistons struggling on offense
2Q, 7:30: Cavs 41, Pistons 26.
Pistons guard Duncan Robinson began the second quarter with a runner and then followed with a steal on Sam Merrill, drawing a foul on the fast break. A Cade Cunningham layup then brought Cleveland’s lead down to five points.
Worth noting, Pistons center Paul Reed entered the game, as coach J.B. Bickerstaff has brought him in during the first half for the second-straight game. He’s been fairly ineffective so far, however, with Cavs center Evan Mobley scoring three early points with Reed guarding the interior.
Detroit has struggled to get anything going offensively, shooting less than 35% from the field while the Cavs are shooting over 50%. Cleveland is just 4-for-9 from the free-throw line, however, meaning this Cavs lead could have been much bigger.
Cavs extend lead to end first quarter
End 1Q: Cavs 31, Pistons 22.
Cade Cunningham’s first points of the night cut the Cavs lead to 16-15 late in the first quarter. But the Cavs quickly regained the lead on a James Harden layup and an Evan Mobley 3-pointer.
The Cavs are beating the Pistons in the paint and on the offensive boards so far in the first quarter, a big reason why they’ve been able to maintain a lead. But one area the Pistons are succeeding is in drawing free throws, as the Pistons have taken six free throw attempts to Cleveland’s two.
But with the Cavs heating up from 3, now 6-for-13 in the game, they have extended their lead to near double-digits.
Jalen Duren gets involved, Pistons tie it up
1Q, 4:33: Pistons 13, Cavs 13.
The Pistons forced a shot-clock violation on Cleveland’s offense on the first sequence out of the timeout, but the Cavs responded with a Dean Wade 3-pointer on the next possession and a Wade dunk the possession after. Two Jalen Duren buckets kept the Pistons around, however, while a Eurostep move from Caris LeVert on the fast break tied the game at 13-13.
Cavs lead early
1Q, 6:34: Cavs 8, Pistons 7.
An alley-oop from Donovan Mitchell to Evan Mobley started the game, giving the Cavs an early 2-0 lead. Pistons guard Daniss Jenkins then responded with a corner 3-pointer, giving Detroit its first lead of the game.
Pistons forward Ausar Thompson missed an alley-oop attempt that would have brought down the house, while Cavs center Jared Allen already has three inside baskets, the third coming with an and-one foul (though he missed the free throw). The Pistons, meanwhile, are shooting just 2-for-8 from the floor, with Jenkins scoring six points so far on two 3-pointers.
The Pistons defense has done well contesting Cleveland 3-pointers, as the Cavs are shooting 0-for-6 from beyond the arc. Still, Cleveland has an early lead.
Cade Cunningham fifth in MVP voting
Pistons star Cade Cunningham wasn’t a finalist for the NBA MVP award, but he still received two first-place votes.
Cunningham finished fifth in the vote, behind winner Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City), Nikola Jokić (Denver), Victor Wembanyama (San Antonio) and Luka Dončić (Lakers).
Pistons starting 5
The Pistons are rolling with point guard Daniss Jenkins in the starting five.
Cavs starting 5
Max Strus is starting in place of Dean Wade for the Cavaliers. Otherwise, these are the Cavs you know.
Pistons injury update
Guards Kevin Huerter, Caris LeVert and Duncan Robinson were all initially listed as questionable. But according to the most recent injury report, they are all available for tonight’s Game 7.
No t-shirts today
Pistons fans at LCA will get rally towels instead of t-shirts, with cartoon caricatures of the entire roster on display.
ABC predicting the future?
The winner of tonight’s Game 7 will face the Knicks in the East Finals, with Game 1 televised on either ABC or ESPN.
Except ABC has already run a promo featuring the Knicks and the Cavs, with the commercial running on Saturday. Oops.
What time is Pistons vs Cavs Game 7?
Pistons vs Cavaliers channel in Game 7
Sunday’s Game 7 will not be televised on a TV channel, but instead be streamed exclusively on Amazon’s Prime Video.
Pistons vs Cavaliers stream in Game 7
Watch Pistons vs Cavs Game 7 on Prime
Pistons vs Cavs radio
Game 7 will be broadcast on WXYT-FM (97.1) in the Detroit area. Longtime duo Mark Champion and former “Bad Boy” Rick Mahorn are set to call the action.
Pistons vs Cavs odds in Game 7
The Pistons are favored to win Game 7 over the Cavs.
Odds provided by BetMGM as of Sunday afternoon.
Pistons vs Cavs predictions for Game 7
Omari Sankofa II, Detroit Free Press: The Pistons smell blood. After putting together their best playoff performance in Cleveland, they should take care of home court and make the ECF for the first time since 2008. The pick: Pistons 111, Cavs 102.
Pistons uniforms vs Cavs in Game 7
For only the second time this postseason, the Pistons will wear their blue “Icon Edition” uniforms, while the Cavs will wear their white “Association Edition” uniforms.
Pistons injury report vs Cavs in Game 7
From the official NBA injury report.
Cavaliers injury report vs Pistons in Game 7
Pistons vs Cavaliers schedule, scores in playoff series
Here are the Pistons vs. Cavs scores and schedule for the playoff series in the first round:
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You can reach Christian at cromo@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Did the Pistons win? Score and highlights from Game 7 vs Cavaliers
Reporting by Christian Romo, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
