NBA: Pistons complete near-impossible comeback, Cavaliers shut out Raptors

The Detroit Pistons advanced Sunday to the second round of the NBA Playoffs after beating the Orlando Magic 116-94 in the seventh and final game, culminating a comeback that seemed impossible in the series.

Detroit will now face the Magic in the Eastern Conference semifinals. The Cleveland Cavaliers also lived up to the billing by defeating the Toronto Raptors 114-102 in their own Game 7.

Encouraged by their fans, the Pistons finally broke their postseason losing streak, earning their first series win since 2008 and closing out the series against Orlando with a 4-3 mark.

Despite being the best team in the Eastern Conference during the regular season, Detroit was on the verge of being eliminated immediately when they fell behind 3-1 to Orlando.

The team led by Cade Cunningham, author of 32 points and 12 assists on Sunday, was practically on the ropes in Friday's Game 6.

In that game, Orlando had a prime opportunity to knock off the top seed, taking a maximum lead of 24 points and another of 22 at halftime.

However, to the frustration of their fans, the Magic suffered a historic collapse: they scored only 19 points in the second half and missed 23 consecutive shots, allowing Detroit to become the first visiting team to come back from a 24-point deficit in an elimination game.

The emotional blow was too much for Orlando, which failed to react Sunday when the hosts took command with a strong push before halftime, led by Tobias Harris (30 points).

Paolo Banchero reached 38 points, including his team's first nine, but again resented the absence of his main support, the injured Franz Wagner.

The Pistons thus become the 15th team in history to reverse a 3-1 record in playoffs, a feat that curiously had also been accomplished by the Philadelphia 76ers just 24 hours earlier against the Boston Celtics.

"It feels good to have done our job and accomplished what we set out to do," Cunningham said. "They really pushed us to the limit. We've grown a lot because of this series, because of that team and the way they pushed us."

Allen doubles up Toronto

The last remaining first-round playoff series was settled in Cleveland with a resounding Cavaliers win over the Raptors, a result that advanced them for the third straight year to the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Despite numerous absences of key players, including forward Brandon Ingram, who was unable to play Sunday due to right heel inflammation, the Canadian franchise managed to take the series to the wire against the favored Cavaliers.

A miracle three-pointer by RJ Barrett had given Toronto the overtime win on Friday, but this Sunday Cleveland's stars weren't willing to allow another upset.

Donovan Mitchell and James Harden scored 22 and 18 points respectively, although the big star was Jarrett Allen, dominant on both ends of the court.

The center delivered 22 points, 19 rebounds and 3 blocks, shining especially in the third quarter, a stretch in which he propelled the Cavaliers to a decisive lead.

Two consecutive three-pointers by Harden and Jaylon Tyson ignited an 11-2 run that allowed Cleveland to even the score 49-49 before halftime.

Another crushing 9-0 start at the beginning of the third quarter gave them room to run away, fueled by an unstoppable Allen, who racked up 14 points and nine rebounds in that quarter alone.

"I wanted to show my teammates that we could win this game. Energy and effort, that's what I think wins games (...) It wasn't our time yet," Allen said of his double-double in the third quarter.

Scottie Barnes was again the standout for Toronto with 24 points, while Barrett added another 23.

Conference semifinals defined

With the first round concluded, the Eastern Conference semifinals begin Monday with the New York Knicks facing the Philadelphia 76ers, while the Western Conference semifinals feature the San Antonio Spurs against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The other playoff in the West will feature the Oklahoma City Thunder, reigning champions, and LeBron James's Los Angeles Lakers.

This Sunday, the Timberwolves offered encouraging news to their fans by reporting that their star, Anthony Edwards could be fit to return Monday.

The All-Star point guard received the "questionable" designation for the first time since suffering a left knee injury that kept him out of the final two games of the series against the Denver Nuggets.