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 Cleveland Cavaliers and Detroit Pistons.

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 set to face New York 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 — with two of those wins coming in road games.

“I’ve seen this movie before,” Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said. “It’s tough. It’s hard. And it should be hard. The good thing is we’ve put ourselves in a position to have a Game 7. But this is what it’s about. Playoffs are hard. We’ve got to close it out in Game 7.”

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 won Game 5 in Detroit to take command — albeit briefly — of the series, then lost 115-94 with a chance to close out the series at home on Friday. So, back to Detroit they go.

“It’s one game on the road. There’s no other way to put it,” Cavaliers guard James Harden said. “You’ve got to be detailed, you’ve got to get off for a really good start, and you’ve got to maintain and sustain it for an entire game, however long that takes. It really is just one game. Not saying you’ve got to be perfect, but we’ve got to do the details that we’ve been preaching.”

The Pistons are now 4-0 this season when facing elimination after Friday's victory. They won four elimination games — total — 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.

“We stay in the moment,” Pistons guard Cade Cunningham said. “We 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.”

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.”

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:

— 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.

— 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.

— Boston, 2008

The Celtics won the NBA title in 2007-08 the hard — really hard — 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 — rallying from 3-1 down in both of those series — then lost to the Lakers 4-1 in the West finals.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba

Cleveland Cavaliers' James Harden (1) shoots as Detroit Pistons' Caris LeVert (8) defends in the second half of Game 6 of a second-round NBA basketball playoffs series Friday, May 15, 2026, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham, right, shoots past Cleveland Cavaliers center Evan Mobley, left, in the second half of Game 6 of a second-round NBA basketball playoffs series Friday, May 15, 2026, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson shouts in the first half of Game 6 of a second-round NBA basketball playoffs series against the Detroit Pistons Friday, May 15, 2026, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Max Strus (2) gestures as he comes back into the game in the second half of Game 6 of a second-round NBA basketball playoffs series against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Friday, May 15, 2026, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Detroit Pistons' Ausar Thompson, left, and Cleveland Cavalirs' Max Strus, center, reach for the ball over Caris LeVert, right, in the first half of Game 6 of a second-round NBA basketball playoffs series Friday, May 15, 2026, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

HONOLULU (AP) — Tropical Storm Lala is expected to strengthen to a hurricane before reaching Hawaii's Big Island this weekend, forecasters said Friday, bringing heavy rains that can cause destructive flooding and strong winds that can fuel wildfires.

The National Hurricane Center said Lala should be at hurricane strength by the time it approaches the Big Island Saturday.

If it makes landfall there, it would be the first to hit the island since 1871. Back then, according to a University of Hawaii atmospheric scientist's research of newspaper accounts, a Category 3 hurricane hit the northeast corner of the island, said Vanessa Almanza, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Honolulu.

“First time since satellites,” Almanza said. “The latest forecast has it very close to the southern tip of the Big Island.”

A hurricane warning was issued for the Big Island, and a tropical storm warning was in effect for Maui County, which includes the islands of Maui, Molokai, Lanai and Kahoolawe.

Officials and residents braced for Lala regardless of whether Hawaii takes a direct hit. Shelters were scheduled to open, and various events were canceled.

“It doesn’t take landfall to create destruction,” Almanza said. “A lot of the impacts are felt outside of the hurricane.”

The National Hurricane Center predicted 8 to 12 inches (20.3 to 30.5 centimeters) of rainfall totals across Maui and the Big Island, with maximum totals as high as 25 inches (63.5 centimeters) in some spots on the Big Island. Four to 6 inches (10.2 to 15.2 centimeters) were expected across the island chain.

The center also warned that the storm could cause “life-threatening flooding and mudslides, especially in areas of steep terrain,” along with a dangerous storm surge and ocean swells “likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.”

“Suffice it to say, this is an enormous storm,” Gov. Josh Green said.

State Rep. Jeanné Kapela, who represents communities that are in the storm's possible track, traveled to the Big Island from Honolulu on Friday morning and called for people to be on alert.

The southern end of the island is remote and rural but growing in population because of its affordability. Kapela said she was especially worried about people who live off the grid in unpermitted structures. The area's agriculture includes coffee and cattle.

“We're encouraging residents to take this storm seriously, remain vigilant, and get somewhere safe before conditions deteriorate,” she said in a text message to The Associated Press as her flight took off. “We're hopeful the storm moves through quickly, but we're preparing for whatever comes.”

Green urged residents to be ready: “If you feel now that your house doesn’t have a great roof or might not be able to withstand hurricane force winds, then first things first you go to a family or friend's house and you kind of hunker down there."

Kapela also noted that many parts of the state are still reeling from devastating flooding in March, saying, “We know how quickly heavy rain and flooding can impact our rural communities.”

Brian Miyamoto, executive director of the Hawaii Farm Bureau, said growers are always concerned when there is a threat of a lot of water in a short amount time. But those still recovering from the spring floods, including on Oahu’s North Shore, were worried about suffering more damage.

Coffee farmer Bruce Corker said it was “sunny and beautiful” Friday in Holualoa, on the west side of the Big Island, and the island's only Costco seemed normal a day earlier. Still, he said, the prospect of “streams overflowing and high winds” was worrisome.

As winds ramped up across the islands, there were no red flag warnings in place but Almanza said the dry and breezy conditions would still elevate fire concerns.

In 2023 the Maui town of Lahaina burned during extreme winds amid a hurricane passing far to the south of Hawaii.

“Since the fire, everybody is way more aware of weather in general and our environment and things that are happening,” said Archie Kalepa of Lahaina, who is well known in the area for his surfing, paddling and other ocean skills and has been watching the storm closely.

As of Friday afternoon, Tropical Storm Lala was located about 275 miles (440 kilometers) east-southeast of South Point, Hawaii, according to the National Hurricane Center. It had maximum sustained winds of 65 mph (100 kph) and was moving toward the west-northwest at 14 mph (22 kph).

The wind speed threshold for a Category 1 hurricane is 74 mph (46 kph).

“I wouldn’t be afraid of what’s to come, just be prepared,” said Steven Businger, the University of Hawaii professor whose research found information about the hurricane that hit the Big Island 155 years ago.

Lala has the potential to make landfall with damaging winds, he said, but its forecast path was trending south with every forecast.

“The Big Island is furthest south and furthest east, so it has the greatest probability of having a hurricane hit,” he said. “However, historically Kauai has seen the most landfalls.”

Kauai, which is several islands northwest up the archipelago from the Big Island, saw Hurricane Iniki make landfall as a Category 4 hurricane in 1992. That, like this year, was an El Nino year. Pacific hurricane activity increases during El Nino, a warming of the Pacific near the equator that affects weather patterns across the globe.

Iniki, the last hurricane to make landfall in Hawaii, was following a southern trajectory before it turned up and hit Kauai, the governor said.

“It did $3 billion worth of damage. It destroyed thousands of homes, and it did kill six people,” he said. “So we just can never know if a storm is going to turn.”

This NOAA satellite image taken at 5:22 p.m. EST on Friday, Aug. 14, 2026, shows Tropical Storm Lala as it approaches Hawaii's Big Island. (NOAA via AP)