The Cleveland Cavaliers and Detroit Pistons needed a full seven games to decide the winner of their Eastern Conference semi-final series.

Game 7, however, was decided well before the final buzzer.

The fourth-seeded Cavaliers took control early and never looked back, rolling to an emphatic 125-94 thrashing of the top-seeded Pistons on Sunday to advance to their first conference finals since 2018.

They'll next play Tuesday against the third-seeded New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

ECF BOUND.@Redfin | #LetEmKnow pic.twitter.com/ionghPy5hA

— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) May 18, 2026

Donovan Mitchell had a game-high 26 points and added eight assists and seven rebounds to make his first conference finals in his ninth NBA season.

Mitchell was one of four 20-point scorers for Cleveland, with Jarrett Allen and Sam Merrill each tallying 23 and Evan Mobley adding 21.

Allen and Merrill each had 15 in the opening half, as Merrill made 5 of 7 shots, including 4 of 6 from 3-point range.

Any potential drama for this winner-take-all game never materialised as the Cavaliers turned this one into a laugher.

They built a 20-point lead late in the first half and had a 35-point advantage in the first few minutes of the fourth quarter, sending most Detroit fans to the exits.

The Pistons forced a Game 7 by winning by 21 points in Cleveland on Friday, but were bullied around by the Cavs and couldn't get anything going offensively.

Detroit allowed 58 points in the paint and scored only 34 of its own - tied for its fewest points in the paint all season.

Star guard Cade Cunningham had just 13 points while the Pistons were led in scoring by Daniss Jenkins, who had 17.

Detroit shot 35.3 per cent as it failed to close out Cleveland, falling one victory shy of its first appearance in the conference finals since 2008.