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 Pistons 125-94 in Detroit on Sunday (Monday AEST) in Game 7 — on the road, no less — of their Eastern Conference semi-final series. Their reward is a trip to third seeds New York for Game 1 against the Knicks on Tuesday.

Mitchell scored 26 points, Jarrett Allen and Sam Merrill each added 23 and Evan Mobley had 21 points and 12 rebounds for the Cavs, who advanced to the conference finals for the first time since 2018 and the ninth time in team history. It’s their deepest run since LeBron James’ final season with the franchise.

The fourth-seeded Cavaliers ousted the East’s top seeds, for whom Daniss Jenkins scored 17 points, and Cade Cunningham and Duncan Robinson each finished with 13.

Detroit were outscored in the paint 58-34 and made only 35.3 per cent of their field goal attempts, compared to Cleveland’s 50.6.

The Cavs led 31-22 going to the second quarter, and after the Pistons had the first two baskets, the visitors quickly seized control with a 24-9 run. Detroit’s offensive struggles only deepened and Kenny Atkinson’s side built a commanding 64-47 lead into halftime.

The Cavaliers led by as much as 35 points, with the Pistons only able to get within 17 in the third quarter.

Mitchell, who was brought to Cleveland in September 2022 in a trade with Utah, added seven rebounds and eight assists to his stats sheet.

He has been an All-Star in each of the last seven seasons, was one of eight players to receive at least one vote in this year’s MVP balloting and will likely be an All-NBA pick for the third time.

But there was a void — the deep playoffs run.

Not anymore.

He was part of a No.1 seed in 2021, part of a No.1 seed again last year, and never got out of round two.

Until now.