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DETROIT -- For Donovan Mitchell, a breakthrough moment has arrived.
He's going to the conference finals for the first time.
In his ninth season, Mitchell has reached the NBA's final four. He and the Cleveland Cavaliers rolled past the Detroit Pistons 125-94 on Sunday night in Game 7 -- on the road, no less -- of their Eastern Conference semifinal series. Their reward is a trip to New York for Game 1 of the East finals against the Knicks on Tuesday.
Mitchell had 26 points, seven rebounds and eight assists to lead Sunday's romp. And when his night was over with 4:01 remaining, he had handshakes and hugs for anyone wearing Cleveland colors. He even leaned down to wrap his arms around Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson, who was seated and seemed to be still locked in to the game.
Mitchell was brought to Cleveland in September 2022 in a trade with Utah, with the Cavaliers betting -- correctly, it turned out -- that he would be the last piece of their post-LeBron James rebuild and help them return to the playoffs.
They got to the first round in 2023, then lost in the second round in 2024 and 2025. This year, the conference finals await after the third-biggest road win a team has ever had in a Game 7.