In a flip of occasions nobody noticed coming, the Pacers are up 2-0 towards the Cavaliers and their star participant Donovan Mitchell is taking a few of the blame.
With Evan Mobley, Darius Garland, and De’Andre Hunter all sidelined Tuesday, the load fell squarely on Donovan Mitchell. However he delivered, dropping 48 factors on 15-30 taking pictures, together with 9 assists, 5 boards, 4 steals.
He took a beating too, incomes 21 free throw makes an attempt.
Nonetheless, it’s exhausting to miss Mitchell’s half in Cleveland’s brutal collapse.
The Cavs let a seven-point lead slip away within the closing minute, finally shedding 120-119.
Mitchell was clearly working on fumes down the stretch, and issues spiraled in a short time.
Within the final three minutes alone, he had two pictures blocked, missed a pair of free throws, dedicated an important offensive foul and was subbed out for a defensive possession.
One tough second got here throughout 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 officers let a lane violation slide.
After the sport, Mitchell didn’t dodge accountability for the ultimate play.
“I ought to have grabbed the ball,” he stated. “I ought to’ve grabbed it. I used to be proper there, so … that’s on me.”
Mitchell was additionally on the court docket for the disastrous final sequence the place Haliburton received fouled, break up the free throws, grabbed his personal miss, and hit the game-winner. Mitchell missed a rebound that might’ve sealed it.
The Cavs now have two days to regroup, get better some our bodies, and provides Mitchell a breather.
“I’m banged up, however all of us are,” he stated. “It’s what it’s.”
Though he had a rollercoaster of a efficiency, Spida offered a fairly sick spotlight for his troubles.
OH MY GOODNESS DONOVAN MITCHELL 🤯
He’s now as much as 21 factors in 18 minutes on TNT! pic.twitter.com/Hw5tXMi5rv
— NBA (@NBA) Could 7, 2025
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