Mitchell pushes Cavaliers past second round, sets up clash with Knicks
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For the first time in his nine-year career, Donovan Mitchell is headed to a conference finals. The guard delivered 26 points, eight assists and six rebounds on Sunday night as the Cleveland Cavaliers eliminated the Detroit Pistons with a 101-70 Game 7 romp, sealing a second-round series that had gone the distance for the second straight round.
“We’re just one step closer,” Mitchell said after the 31-point victory at Little Caesars Arena. “It’s been almost a decade of running into the same issue, so we can finally breathe a little bit.”
Head coach Kenny Atkinson noted the breakthrough was a target from the first day of training camp, when he reminded the roster of its 11-15 postseason record over the previous three years. “We still have more to prove,” he said. “But we proved to ourselves we could take another step.”
The playoff path
Cleveland has needed seven games to advance in each of the first two rounds, surviving physical series against Chicago and Detroit. Guard Sam Merrill believes the grind has its benefits. “These have been great opportunities for us to get to know each other, develop belief and keep getting better,” he said.
Allen answers critics
Center Jarrett Allen, often questioned for his postseason production, turned in a second consecutive standout Game 7 with 23 points and seven rebounds. Two hours before tip-off, team chairman Dan Gilbert sent Allen a motivational text, later telling Atkinson the center was “the key to this whole thing.”
Quick turnaround
The Cavaliers depart immediately for New York, where Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Knicks tips off Tuesday night. Players boarded Saturday’s charter flight with oversized suitcases, anticipating an extended stay away from Cleveland.
“We can’t look at this and say, ‘All right, we did it,’” Mitchell cautioned. “We’ve still got more to do. We’ve had bumps in the road, but we’ll go to war with each other any day of the week.”
Source: Hoops Rumors
