Live Updates From Game 7 As Pistons, Cavaliers Battle for Spot in the Eastern Conference Finals

Follow along to get a glimpse of the scenes from Game 7 in Detroit.

Cade Cunningham and James Harden will go at it in Game 7 between the Pistons and Cavaliers | Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

It all comes down to this. Both the Pistons and Cavaliers survived a Game 7 in the first round. Now each team finds itself in the same situation two weeks later to keep the season alive.

Detroit, the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, has already survived four elimination games over the playoffs after the Pistons came back from a 3–1 deficit against the Magic in the first round. The Cavs beat the Raptors in Game 7 after a wild shot from Toronto’s RJ Barrett in Game 6 to force a decider.

The Pistons took the first two games against the Cavs as Detroit went on a five-game playoff winning streak. During that stretch, it felt like the young and hungry franchise figured out its flaws after climbing out of a big hole against Orlando. Cleveland punched back from there, however, as the Cavs were perfect at home early on in the playoffs. They took Games 3 and 4 to even the series as it went back to Detroit.

It looked like the Pistons would hold serve at home, but a late collapse, a controversial no-call and a strong second half from Cleveland saw the Cavs survive in overtime to get the monkey off their back on the road. With an opportunity to wrap up the series in Cleveland, the Cavs fell flat against a Pistons team that’s been so good with its back against the wall.

MORE: Cavaliers or Pistons in Game 7? X-Factors That Will Determine Who Advances to Eastern Conference Finals

That’s brought us to a decisive Game 7 to determine who will meet the Knicks in the Eastern Conference finals. Sports Illustrated will be in the building at Little Caesars Arena to bring you live updates throughout the night:

Live updates from Game 7 between the Pistons and Cavaliers

How we got here in the Pistons-Cavaliers series

• Game 1: Pistons 111, Cavaliers 101 (Detroit)
• Game 2: Pistons 107, Cavaliers 97 (Detroit)
• Game 3: Cavaliers 116, Pistons 109 (Cleveland)
• Game 4: Cavaliers 112, Pistons 103 (Cleveland)
• Game 5: Cavaliers 117, Pistons 113 (OT) (Detroit)
• Game 6: Pistons 115, Cavaliers 94 (Cleveland)

The Pistons dominated in Game 6 thanks to a balanced effort on offense. That’s not always a given for Detroit with Cade Cunningham at the center of its offense, but his supporting cast stepped up with the season on the line. Paul Reed, Duncan Robinson, Caris LeVert and Marcus Sasser were huge off the bench as they combined for 48 points compared to just 19 for the Cavs’ reserves. Detroit’s defense held Donovan Mitchell, James Harden and Evan Mobley to inefficient nights as Cleveland struggled to get it going as a whole from the field.

Detroit took care of Cleveland by 21 points in Game 6 to bring the series back home. After the home team won the first four games of the series, the road side has taken the last two. We’ll see what’s in store with a trip to the Eastern Conference finals on the line in Sunday night’s Game 7, which tips at 8 p.m. ET on Amazon Prime.

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