Did someone leak the “script” for the NBA’s Eastern Conference finals?
In a mistake sure to motivate the Pistons and provide fodder for conspiracy theorists who believe sports are fixed, ABC affiliates from Alabama to California, South Carolina and Nebraska aired a commercial promoting the Knicks-Cavaliers conference finals series, according to Awful Announcing.
The only problem is that the Pistons beat the Cavaliers, 115-94, in Game 6 of their conference semifinals series Friday night, setting up a winner-take-all Game 7 at 8 p.m. ET on Sunday.
The Pistons are a 4.5-point favorite at FanDuel.
ABC and ESPN will air the entire Eastern Conference finals.
“The Cavs eye another upset,” the commercial began, showing video of the Cavaliers with an advantage over the Pistons, “while the Knicks carry the dreams of all of New York.”
The tease then showed a promo for Cavaliers at Knicks in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals at 3:30 p.m. Sunday, when it would have been the standalone game.
All that would have been the case if the Cavaliers had finished off the Pistons in Game 6 at home Friday night, but Detroit rebounded from a tough home overtime loss in Game 5 to force Game 7.
Star Cade Cunningham led Detroit with 21 points in a balanced effort, while Donovan Mitchell had a rough night for the Cavaliers with a minus-25 rating despite scoring 18 points.
Instead, the series will start Tuesday night — either with the Cavaliers at Madison Square Garden or with the Knicks visiting the Pistons in a rematch from last year’s first-round series.
So, the network has plenty of time between Sunday night’s Game 7 in Detroit and Tuesday night to promote the correct two teams squaring off without getting button-happy.