Game 7s have been kind to Cavaliers, Pistons over the years. But one will fall on Sunday

Game 7. That’s a phrase that surely brings back a lot of good memories for fans of the and .

Of course, only one of those groups will be happy on Sunday night.

For the second consecutive round, the Cavaliers and Pistons are heading to a winner-take-all contest. Detroit plays host to Cleveland on Sunday night in Game 7 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series, with the winner in the East finals starting Tuesday.

Detroit is 6-1 in Game 7s since 1990, while Cleveland is 5-0 in Game 7s since 2016 鈥� with two of those wins coming in road games.

鈥淚鈥檝e seen this movie before,鈥� Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 tough. It鈥檚 hard. And it should be hard. The good thing is we鈥檝e put ourselves in a position to have a Game 7. But this is what it鈥檚 about. Playoffs are hard. We鈥檝e got to close it out in Game 7.鈥�

Cleveland’s seven-game win in Round 1 this season was over Toronto; Detroit’s seven-game win in Round 1 this season was over Orlando. The Cavaliers and Pistons both got to be at home for those games; Cleveland doesn’t have that luxury this time around.

The Cavs in Detroit to take command 鈥� albeit briefly 鈥� of the series, with a chance to close out the series at home on Friday. So, back to Detroit they go.

鈥淚t鈥檚 one game on the road. There鈥檚 no other way to put it,鈥� Cavaliers guard James Harden said. 鈥淵ou鈥檝e got to be detailed, you鈥檝e got to get off for a really good start, and you鈥檝e got to maintain and sustain it for an entire game, however long that takes. It really is just one game. Not saying you鈥檝e got to be perfect, but we鈥檝e got to do the details that we鈥檝e been preaching.鈥�

The Pistons are now 4-0 this season when facing elimination after Friday’s victory. They won four elimination games 鈥� total 鈥� in the last 20 seasons combined, though in fairness most of those years came and went without Detroit even making the playoffs.

But this team is different. A 14-win laughingstock of a club two seasons ago held the No. 1 seed in the East for almost this entire season, and a sense of poise seems to have grown from that success.

鈥淲e stay in the moment,鈥� Pistons guard Cade Cunningham said. 鈥淲e don’t get ahead of ourselves. But most importantly, we stick together. When things get ugly or whatever, we come together, we talk, we get back in the moment and then we move forward from there.鈥�

Added Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff: “They just don’t quit. The resolve that they have, the belief that they have in one another, they just have the ability to bounce back mentally where they don’t hang onto things. Quarters don’t bother them. Halves don’t bother them. They just move on to the next play, stay moment to moment and try to win what’s in front of them.鈥�

A tough path to the conference finals

Sunday’s winner will be the sixth team in this playoff format (the NBA began using best-of-seven series in Round 1 in 2003) to advance to the conference finals after winning Game 7s in both Round 1 and Round 2.

The others:

鈥� Dallas, 2003

The Mavs went 60-22 in the 2002-03 season and were the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference playoffs. They beat Portland 4-3 in Round 1, Sacramento 4-3 in Round 2, but fell in six games to San Antonio in the West finals.

鈥� Phoenix, 2006

The Suns went 54-28 in the 2005-06 season and were the No. 2 seed in the West. They beat the Lakers 4-3 in Round 1, the Clippers 4-3 in Round 2, but fell in six games to Dallas in the West finals.

鈥� Boston, 2008

The Celtics won the NBA title in 2007-08 the hard 鈥� really hard 鈥� way. Boston went 66-16 to grab the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs, then needed seven games to topple both Atlanta in Round 1 and Cleveland in Round 2. The Celtics beat Detroit in six games to win the East finals, then beat the Lakers in six games in the NBA Finals.

Toronto, 2016

The Raptors went 56-26 in 2015-16 and were the No. 2 seed in the East. They needed seven games to beat Indiana in Round 1 and Miami in Round 2, then lost in six games to Cleveland in the East finals.

Denver, 2020

In the bubble season the Nuggets finished 46-27 to grab the West’s No. 3 seed. They beat Utah 4-3 in Round 1, the Clippers 4-3 in Round 2 鈥� rallying from 3-1 down in both of those series 鈥� then lost to the Lakers 4-1 in the West finals.

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