JARRETT ALLEN delivered a dominant performance with 22 points and 19 rebounds as the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Toronto Raptors, 114-102, in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference first round series on Sunday night (Monday in the Philippines) in Cleveland, Ohio.
Donovan Mitchell also scored 22 points, while James Harden contributed 18 for Cleveland in a tightly contested series where the home team prevailed in all seven games.
The fourth-seeded Cavaliers will face the top-seeded Detroit Pistons in the second round, with Game 1 set for Tuesday night (Wednesday in the Philippines). The two Central Division rivals split their four regular-season matchups.
Cleveland turned the tide with a decisive 49-21 run spanning the second and third quarters as they erased a nine-point deficit and built a commanding 19-point lead.
Allen anchored the surge, tallying 14 points and 10 rebounds during that stretch, including five offensive boards, for the Cavaliers.
Scottie Barnes led Toronto with 24 points and nine rebounds, while RJ Barrett added 23 markers. The Raptors were making their first playoff appearance since 2022.
In Detroit, Cade Cunningham scored 32 points and added 12 assists, and Tobias Harris contributed 30 points and nine rebounds to lead the Pistons to a 116-94 victory over Orlando Magic in Game 7 of their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series.
Daniss Jenkins came off the bench to score 16 points and Jalen Duren had 15 points and 15 rebounds for the top-seeded Pistons, who won the final three games of the series to advance in the playoffs for the first time since 2008.
Detroit built a 25-point lead with just more than eight minutes remaining in the game. The Magic responded with a 15-4 run to pull within 100-86 with 4:22 left, but the Pistons scored 16 of the final 24 points to secure the win.
Paolo Banchero scored 38 points and had nine rebounds and Desmond Bane added 16 points for the Magic, which blew a 3-1 first-round series lead to Detroit for the second time, with the previous collapse coming in 2003./PN
