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'Don's a warrior': Donovan Mitchell's incredible effort lost in Cavs' Game 2 defeat
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- 'Don's a warrior': Donovan Mitchell's incredible effort lost in Cavs' Game 2 defeat
CLEVELAND — Donovan Mitchell put forth a Herculean effort, but somehow, it wasn't enough .
He took hit after hit after hit and kept getting up. He drove to the rim almost at will, often drawing hard contact and expending immense amounts of energy, and kept driving.
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He played through a calf strain, as TNT reported during the game, and cramping. He was knocked down over and over and over, and kept getting up (several times it took a few moments for him to shake the cobwebs loose).
He poured in 48 points (many of those 48 were earned the hard way), dished out nine assists and had four steals. He gave every single ounce of effort that was available, at some point in that wild fourth quarter probably ran out of available energy, and still somehow kept giving more.
For a franchise-level player in a crucial playoff game, it was a masterpiece.
And yet, seemingly in the blink of an eye, and to Cavaliers fans' shocked horror, it wasn't enough.
May 6, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) reacts after driving to the basket in the fourth quarter against the Indiana Pacers during game two of the second round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images
Cavaliers fall to Pacers on Tyrese Haliburton 's game winner
In one of the most stunning finishes to an NBA playoff game you'll ever see, the Cavaliers lost Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals to the Indiana Pacers , 120-119.
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The Cavs at one point led by 20 and seemed to be cruising to a tied-up series, even without Darius Garland , Evan Mobley and De'Andre Hunter, who were all sidelined with injuries. Max Strus buried a 3-pointer with 57 seconds left to make it a seven-point Cavs lead. The game was virtually over.
Then it fell apart astonishingly fast. A sequence of unfortunate events for the Cavs led to Tyrese Haliburton standing on the free throw line with one more attempt and the Pacers down by two points with 12 seconds left on the clock.
He missed the free throw. If the Cavs get the rebound, it might be over. But Mitchell and Jarrett Allen weren't able to stop Turner from tipping the ball to Haliburton, who dribbled out to the 3-point line, stepped back and drained a dagger of a game-winning shot .
The air was simply taken out of the arena. And despite 48 points, nine assists and four steals, despite virtually putting the entire short-handed team on his back for 48 minutes and taking numerous hard hits while playing through an injury, that is the play that will haunt Mitchell as the Cavs try to move past such a gut-punch of a playoff loss.
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That one moment as the ball hit off the rim, and before it found its way into Haliburton's hands.
"I should have grabbed it. I should have grabbed the ball. I should have grabbed it," Mitchell said. "It was right there, so that's on me. I should have grabbed the ball."
May 6, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) reacts in the fourth quarter during game two of the second round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs against the Indiana Pacers at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images
Donovan Mitchell scores 48 points but Cavaliers lose Game 2 to Pacers
Mitchell in the fourth quarter of Game 2 looked like something out of a Rocky movie. Several times he was sent to the floor with force, and several times it took him a few extra moments to get up — or in some cases, literally lifted up by teammates.
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There was nothing left in the tank, nothing else left to give.
"He had to come out there at the end [for a defensive possession] because he was cramping, and I don't know what more he could do," said Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson, who before Game 2 called for the league to review playoff physicality . "He single-handedly kept us [ahead]."
Atkinson viewed the end of the game as the Cavs running out of gas. They had talked all week about playing with "force," and they had no force left. Nobody gave more than Mitchell, before even considering a calf strain and cramping.
It was one of the best individual playoff performances in Cavaliers franchise history. But a tipped ball and a Haliburton 3-pointer will change how the game is remembered and perceived.
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"Don's a warrior," said Max Strus. "He'll tell you himself it wasn't enough."
Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell drives to the basket against the Indiana Pacers in the first quarter of Game 2, May 6, 2025, in Cleveland.
The Cavs have a few days to move past this gut-punch before Game 3 on Friday, May 9.
"You ain't got no choice," Mitchell said, speaking to how the Cavs can mentally get past the loss. "We can sit here and dwell on this and be home in about four or five days, or we can move on and take some things that we did really well and go from there. I have no doubt everybody in that locker room is ready for Friday. It sucks. It stings."
Mitchell was asked, considering the calf strain, if he ever considered not playing. His answer was short: "No." He was then asked to expand on that.
Again, Mitchell was brief.
"I'll be ready for Friday."
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Donovan Mitchell scores 48 points in Cavs loss to Pacers with calf strain
