Donovan Mitchell's Game 7 heroics is why Cavs traded for him

06/05/2024 04:28

When Donovan Mitchell was asked postgame if “Playoff Spida” was back after the Cleveland Cavaliers won Game 7 over the Orlando Magic, 106-94, he couldn’t help but chuckle.

All throughout his career, Mitchell had been known as a big-time player who always steps up whenever the lights were the brightest. But, after years of frustrating postseason exits across his time with the Utah Jazz and Cavs, people began to question if Mitchell’s playoff heroics were substance or empty calories.

So after Cleveland was able to put away a pesky Orlando team for good, after being drowned in constant MVP chants from Cavs fans, after putting his the hopes of his team and city on his back, perhaps Playoff Spida was back. But to Mitchell, this wasn’t about whether or not he was living up to the expectations of others.

Instead, he was finally able to live up to the expectations he puts on himself every single time he takes the hardwood.

Donovan Mitchell going down as one of the Cavs’ all-time greats

"I'm tired of losing in the first round," Mitchell said after his hearty chuckle. "You work too hard. We work too hard as a group. Obviously battling through what I'm battling through, I could battle through it and figure it out or I could rehab it for the next three or four months. That's kind of where I'm at mentally.

"It's my job. It's why there's an expectation on myself. I deserve the criticism as much as the praise. I just did my job, and I've got to continue to do my job for us to continue to advance."

Although the Cavs found themselves down by nearly 18 points in the first half, neither Mitchell nor his team felt their confidence waver, despite the jeers and groans from fans at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Cleveland went on a 12-4 run in the final four minutes of the second quarter to cut that massive deficit to 10 going into halftime. The boos had been replaced by cheers, shocking the Cavs back to life and giving them the momentum to enforce their will on the Magic.

After trailing for about 28 consecutive minutes of game action, the Cavs finally went back in front, spearheaded by a 12-5 run out of halftime and a pair of Caris LeVert free throws with 3:39 left in the third quarter. It was the first time Cleveland had led since the opening moments of the game and, because of Mitchell individually scoring more points than the Magic combined in the third, something the Cavs never gave back.

In all, Cleveland outscored Orlando 63-41 in the second half, with Donovan Mitchell's fingerprints all over the franchise-altering victory. The Cavs had pulled off the NBA's largest Game 7 comeback victory since 1997-98 and have made the second for the first time without LeBron James on their roster since the 1992-93 season.

"It's a testament to our guys, testament to the guys in locker room to stay with it, to stay together," said Max Strus, who was brought in from Miami this past summer to provide toughness and big-game experience. "We could have split and went opposite ways and really put our head down and just taken an L. But guys stayed with it, kept fighting. That's the playoffs. Guys got to step up. Guys make plays. We've all got to do it together to win and advance.

"We love each other. We love playing. We want to keep going. We knew that the first round was not just a success for us. That would've been a failure. We've advanced and we're going to have that same motto in the second round. Keep winning. Be greedy."

Mitchell, who has been battling pain in his knee for months, finished with 39 points 11 of 27 shooting, 2 of 8 from 3-point range and 15 of 17 from the foul line in 45 minutes of action. Over the last two games, he tallied a combined 89 points, the second-most in Games 6 and 7 of a series in NBA history, trailing Philadelphia 76ers legend Allen Iverson by one point.

Mitchell’s heroics are why the Cavs moved heaven and earth to acquire him, because Cleveland believed that Playoff Spida was the player to carry them when things felt their tighest. In Game 7, Mitchell did precisely that but, to him and the rest of his teammates, they aren’t satisfied.

The job’s not finished and now the Boston Celtics await them in the second round.

"This was great, this was phenomenal. A great win, great series, great test for us mentally and physically, but we can and we will have to be better to beat Boston," Mitchell said. "No disrespect to Orlando because they're a phenomenal team. They've got a lot of great guys. I feel like this was just big for us as a group, but we don't really have time to celebrate.

"We didn't make the group we made just to come in and win the first round. We accomplished one goal, now we have to do it again."

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