The Cleveland Cavaliers are going in for the kill on the road in Game 7 of their second-round series against the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena in Cleveland on Sunday night. Perhaps nothing says more about how much the Cavs want the win than the fearless decision of guard Sam Merrill to try and draw a charge from Pistons forward Ausar Thompson early in the contest.

With Thompson with the ball and going full speed down the court, Merrill stepped in to prevent Thompson from getting an easy layup. The impact caused Merrill to land on his back hard on the floor, with his head also seemingly hitting the court.

Thompson got called for an offensive foul, so Merrill’s sacrifice in that play did not go to waste, at least during the situation.

That is going to likely hurt in the morning for Merrill, but the former Utah State Aggies star is not worrying about that at the moment. It will all be worth it should the Cavs succeed in beating the Pistons in enemy territory to win the series and secure a ticket to the Eastern Conference Finals, where the New York Knicks are already waiting.

You can watch the play here:

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But more than the offensive foul drawn by Merrill, who won an NBA championship with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2021, off Thompson, he’s given the Cavs a huge lift in the first half, where he put up 15 points on 5-for-7 shooting from the field, with four of his buckets coming from behind the arc.