Donovan Mitchell Speaks Out on the Cavaliers’ Struggles in Game 3 Loss Against Knicks

Donovan Mitchell once again showed his frustration despite leading the Cleveland Cavaliers with 24 points.

May 23, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) reacts in the third quarter against the New York Knicks during game three of the eastern conference finals for the 2026 NBA playoffs at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images | David Richard-Imagn Images

It was another disappointing night for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The first two games were somewhat familiar, as the Cavs let the New York Knicks go on runs to gain the advantage and secure the win, even though the first contest saw Cleveland blow a 22-point lead. But in Game 3, Cleveland saw turnovers and another bad shooting night, leaving them in a 0-3 hole as the Knicks bagged a 121-108 win on Saturday night.

For Donovan Mitchell, who led the way with 24 points, the points of emphasis in the defeat were clear.

“We did it to ourselves,” Mitchell conceded afterwards.

So, what went wrong?

Turnovers crippled the Cavs on Saturday, as they gave it up 17 times, allowing the Knicks to score 19 points off of those. Defensively, they didn’t track back, with New York outscoring Cleveland 17-4 in transition.

“You try your hardest not to let that happen and give them credit, they took those misses and got out in transition, even though it was mixed, they got out in transition,” Mitchell admitted. “When you miss shots, it gives them more of an opportunity.”

And the Knicks took full advantage of those missed shots. The Cavs shot 50% from the floor but did so on 84 field-goal attempts, while New York went 55% on 77 shots.

What hurt Cleveland the most, though, was going 12-for-41 from three-point land. A lot of them open looks as well with Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson trusting the process, urging his side to “Keep taking them,” and now, as they face a potential clean sweep on Monday night, they’ve missed a total of 89 three-pointers and are shooting 30%.

“Sometimes the ball just doesn’t go in,” Mitchell shrugged. “We’re getting good looks. Sometimes it just doesn’t go in.

“We shot 50% from the field, but from three, not necessarily as much. But when they get going in transition, and then me, Evan [Mobley], James [Harden] had five turnovers apiece, that doesn’t help.

“They were active, and we weren’t able to control that, especially their pace in transition.”

Mitchell remains defiant

In NBA playoff history, teams that have gone down 0-3 are 0-161.

That’s what Cleveland is up against, but Mitchell remains upbeat, as all players would do in this situation. He has to. The Cavs have to.

“One game at a time, let’s get Monday and go from there,” Mitchell said with a smirk.