SI:AM | Donovan Mitchell Saved the Cavs in Game 7

His enormous third quarter turned the game around.

Mitchell finished with 39 points in Game 7 against the Magic, giving him 89 points combined in the last two games of the series. / Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. I’m not surprised Tom Brady didn’t love all the jokes at his Netflix roast. 

In today’s SI:AM: 
🏀 Cavs win Game 7
🏒 Stars win Game 7
🐎 Mystik Dan wins by a hair

He always steps up in the playoffs

When the Cleveland Cavaliers traded a king’s ransom for Donovan Mitchell in 2022, it was with games like Sunday’s Game 7 against the Orlando Magic in mind. 

Few players in the NBA can score in bunches like Mitchell can. Since he entered the league in 2017, only eight players have had more 40-point games (regular season and postseason) than Mitchell. He has had 32 40-point games in that span, more than LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Anthony Davis. The unfortunate thing for Mitchell is that his elite scoring ability has never translated to team success. In five seasons with the Utah Jazz, his teams never advanced farther than the second round of the playoffs. In his first season in Cleveland last year, the Cavs got bounced in the first round in five games by the New York Knicks. 

But Mitchell stepped up again with two memorable performances in the series against the Magic. In Game 6, he dropped 50 points on 22-of-36 shooting. Yes, the Cavs lost the game, 103–96, but Mitchell’s big game was the only reason it was close. Cleveland got out-rebounded 48–38 and took just 10 free throws as a team, compared to 26 for Orlando. It wouldn’t have been close if Mitchell hadn’t gone off. 

The Magic’s win at home in Game 6 forced a Game 7 in Cleveland, and at halftime it looked like Mitchell’s team was destined for another early postseason exit. The Cavs trailed by as many as 18 in the first half as their offense fell completely flat. Cleveland shot 35% from the field as a team, including a dismal 2-for-11 from three. And Mitchell struggled just as badly as the rest of his teammates in the first half, hitting just three of his 13 shots, although he did go 9-for-10 from the line. 

But after halftime, the tide turned. Mitchell erupted for 17 points in the third quarter on 7-of-9 shooting and out-scored the Magic (15 points) all by himself. Max Strus, who was held scoreless in the first half, scored 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting in the third quarter. 

The big quarter from Mitchell and Strus (who accounted for 28 of Cleveland’s 33 points) turned a 10-point Cavs deficit into an eight-point lead. The Cavs never looked back and maintained their lead for the rest of the game, eventually winning 106–94. 

Mitchell finished with 39 points, giving him 89 points combined in the last two games of the series. That’s the second most ever in Games 6 and 7 of a playoff series, according to ESPN, trailing only the 90 scored by Allen Iverson in the 2001 Eastern Conference finals. The win also marked Cleveland’s first playoff series victory without LeBron James since 1993. 

“I’m tired of losing in the first round,” Mitchell said after the game. “You work too hard. We work too hard. That was my mindset ... for me, just be in attack mode. I’m battling through what I’m battling through, but I could battle through it and figure it out, or rehab it for the next three or four months. That’s where I'm at mentally.”

Mitchell may be tired of losing in the first round, but he’ll be a longshot to advance past the second round for the first time in his career. The Cavs’ win over the Magic set up a second-round matchup against the mighty Boston Celtics, the best team in the regular season by a wide margin. Cleveland will have a better chance of pulling off the upset if it is able to get center Jarrett Allen back on the floor. He’s missed the last three games with bruised ribs. Allen is an elite defender and rebounder who will be sorely missed if he isn’t able to go against Boston. The silver lining is that his absence on the interior won’t be felt as significantly if Celtics center Kristaps Porziņģis isn’t able to return from his calf injury. Regardless of whether Allen plays, though, the Cavs need Mitchell to keep up his historic scoring pace. 

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• The most thrilling sporting event of the weekend was the neck-and-neck Kentucky Derby. Pat Forde was there and has a fantastic recap of one of the most memorable Derbies ever. 
• Albert Breer breaks down Odell Beckham Jr.’s contract with the Dolphins and what it says about how teams view the veteran receiver. 
• After a terrible 2023, Jack Flaherty has regained his old form with the Tigers, Tom Verducci writes. 
• Mike McDaniel wrote about why Derrick White is the x-factor for the Celtics with Kristaps Porziņģis sidelined.  
• Brooks Koepka won this weekend’s LIV Golf event. Bob Harig has more on Koepka becoming the first four-time winner on the breakaway tour. 
• German soccer club Bayer Leverkusen tied a record as it stretched its unbeaten streak to 48 matches. 
• The Padres made a big trade over the weekend, acquiring two-time batting champ Luis Arráez from the Marlins. 

The top five…

… things I saw yesterday: 
5. Jonny DeLuca’s walk-off hit for the Rays. 
4. Shohei Ohtani’s 10th home run of the season, which traveled a whopping 464 feet. 
3. Cole Anthony’s block at the rim on Darius Garland. 
2. Radek Faksa’s goal early in the third period that proved to be the game-winner for the Stars in Game 7. 
1. The Rangers’ crisp passing on Mika Zibanejad’s power-play goal.