A historic start to the second round of the 2025 NBA playoffs saw two road teams take 2-0 leads, while the lower seeds had a combined 6-2 record. Among those results, one of the most shocking was the Cleveland Cavaliers going down 0-2 to the Indiana Pacers after winning 64 games in the regular season.
However, Donovan Mitchell, who’s been one of the unsung heroes of this entire postseason, wasn’t ready to go down without a fight. Fresh off a 48-point masterpiece at home, he dropped another 40-piece on the road to claw Cleveland back into the series. But the mood in the locker room for the Cavaliers isn’t joy. It’s focus.
Donovan Mitchell and Cleveland Cavaliers Not Satisfied
In this series, Mitchell has been scoring at will. After the worst scoring output of his career since his sophomore season, as the Cavs employed a team-first philosophy, Mitchell took it to fifth gear in the postseason.
Averaging over 31 points a night, Mitchell has been playing some of the best basketball of his career, with the Pacers series taking it a step further. After 48 points in Game 2, Mitchell came back with 43, adding nine rebounds and five assists to make it a 2-1 series in favor of Indiana.
Yet, even with the win, Mitchell wasn’t satisfied. Sitting at the post-game press conference, he had a loud and clear message for the entire locker room with a pivotal Game 4 right around the corner.
“It’s 2-1. We haven’t done anything, we won one game. We gotta do it again. That’s always been my message. I told them, We’re not celebrating. We’re not smiling. We came here to take two games and we did one.”
Moreover, there was a clear recognition of the task at hand. Understanding that the next one is the hardest game of the series. And the next one after that is going to be the hardest game. So, take it for what it is and understand we did the job and we gotta keep going.”
So far, Cleveland has had to deal with a ton of injury concerns, with Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, and DeAndre Hunter all missing a critical Game 2 simultaneously. Their return coincided with the Cavaliers’ victory.
But as Mitchell made clear in his best Kobe Bryant impression, the job is not finished. The Cavaliers have another matchup with the Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in a critical Game 4 before heading back home. Tip-off will be Sunday, May 11, at 8 p.m. ET.
