Cleveland Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen was a key piece in the team’s Game 7 win over the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference semifinals on Sunday night, and he received some extra motivation before the game.
Allen received a text from Cavs majority owner Dan Gilbert about two hours before Game 7 against Detroit, and Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor relayed the details.
“Go out there and be you,” the text from Gilbert read, per Fedor.
Fedor shared that many within the Cavs organization view Allen as the “heartbeat” of the team, and the big man had an interesting reaction to receiving Gilbert’s text.
“I was like, ‘Oh [expletive], the owner is texting me.’ I had never gotten a text message from him before,” Allen told Cleveland.com.
“So, it’s like you kind of have to go out there and give it your all when your boss texts you like that. But it’s more than that. It showed that he believes in me, and he believes in what he has put together here.”
Allen stepped up in a big way on Sunday, scoring 23 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field to go along with seven rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block. With so much on the line, the Cavs ended up cruising to a 125-94 win.
The win marks a huge step forward for a Cavs team that has struggled to reach this level of success since LeBron James departed several seasons ago for the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Cavs had not made the Eastern Conference Finals with their current core, and prior to their series with the Pistons, they had struggled in the second round of the playoffs in the Donovan Mitchell era.
So, Allen stepping up and taking Gilbert’s challenge certainly is an important moment in the franchise’s trajectory.
Now, the Cavs will take on the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals with a chance to reach the NBA Finals. Allen will have a major role in that series as well, as the Knicks have two solid big men in Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson.
Both Allen and Evan Mobley will need to be at the top of their games for Cleveland to end up in the Finals this season.
Game 1 between the Cavs and Knicks is scheduled for Tuesday night, so Cleveland has a quick turnaround after winning Game 7 on Sunday.
