Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson didn’t mince words after his team’s disastrous Game 4 meltdown against the Indiana Pacers.
The Pacers’ 129-109 victory was a masterclass in offensive dominance, and Atkinson didn’t hesitate to admit it.
Coach Atkinson on Cavs’ Collapse Against the Pacers
“Complete domination by [Indiana.] They dominated us in every facet of the game. They dominated with their force. They raised their game to another level and we didn’t match it,” said Atkinson. “We talked about it, we knew it was coming. You try to prepare for these things, you try to prepare your guys mentally. But for whatever reason, their force was greater in every sense.”
"Complete domination by [Indiana]"
Kenny Atkinson reflected on Cleveland's Game 4 loss and provided an injury update on Donovan Mitchell pic.twitter.com/ePzYcEpMf8
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT)
Cleveland won an overwhelming 64 games during the regular season and now sits on the brink of elimination, down 3-1 in the series against the surging Pacers. Indiana’s aggressive approach simply overpowered the hesitant and weak Cavs throughout Game 4.
Seven Pacers players had double figures, and Indiana shot 53% from the field in its offensive clinic, for which the Cavs simply had no answer. Cavs star Donovan Mitchell, going to the locker room with an ankle injury in the middle of the game, did nothing to bolster spirits for the team, either.
Although Mitchell’s performance even before his injury was not necessarily one for the books, he managed just 12 points on a rather miserable 27% shooting.
On the whole, Cleveland’s offense looked disjointed and stagnant — nothing like the team dominating the regular season. Mitchell is set to undergo an MRI tomorrow and his unknown status now leaves a massive question mark in Cleveland’s lineup.
Darius Garland, who recently returned from his injury, struggled to fill the void. Both Garland and Mobley’s relatively fresh presence wasn’t nearly enough to keep Cleveland in the game against the firepower of Indiana’s offense.
Whether the game was a fluke or the beginning of the end for the Cavs’ postseason hopes, fans will see on Tuesday. For the time being, the Cavs return home staring at a debilitating 3-1 deficit, one that only 13 teams in NBA history have ever managed to come back from. Without Mitchell, Cleveland’s odds become even slimmer.
The winner of this matchup goes on to play the winner of the Knicks-Celtics matchup, which can very well go on to become a dogfight, as well. All that is to say, the NBA postseason has been as unpredictable and cinematic as advertised, and the Pacers’ unrelenting tenacity against the Cavs is simply a testament to the ability of some teams to rise to the occasion when the lights are at their brightest.
