In a turn of events no one saw coming, the Pacers are up 2-0 against the Cavaliers and their star player Donovan Mitchell is taking some of the blame.
With Evan Mobley, Darius Garland, and De’Andre Hunter all sidelined Tuesday, the load fell squarely on Donovan Mitchell. But he delivered, dropping 48 points on 15-30 shooting, along with nine assists, five boards, and four steals.
He took a beating too, earning 21 free throw attempts.
Still, it’s hard to overlook Mitchell’s part in Cleveland’s brutal collapse.
The Cavs let a seven-point lead slip away in the final minute, ultimately losing 120-119.
Mitchell was clearly running on fumes down the stretch, and things spiraled very quickly.
In the last three minutes alone, he had two shots blocked, missed a pair of free throws, committed a crucial offensive foul, and was subbed out for a defensive possession.
One rough moment came during a Pascal Siakam free throw when Aaron Nesmith beat Mitchell to the rebound and threw down a dunk that left him visibly shaken—and, unsurprisingly, the officials let a lane violation slide.
After the game, Mitchell didn’t dodge responsibility for the final play.
“I should have grabbed the ball,” he said. “I should’ve grabbed it. I was right there, so—that’s on me.”
Mitchell was also on the court for the disastrous last sequence where Haliburton got fouled, split the free throws, grabbed his own miss, and hit the game-winner. Mitchell missed a rebound that could’ve sealed it.
The Cavs now have two days to regroup, recover some bodies, and give Mitchell a breather.
“I’m banged up, but we all are,” he said. “It is what it is.”
Although he had a rollercoaster of a performance, Spida provided a pretty sick highlight for his troubles.
OH MY GOODNESS DONOVAN MITCHELL 🤑
He’s now up to 21 points in 18 minutes on TNT! pic.twitter.com/Hw5tXMi5rv
— NBA (@NBA) May 7, 2025
