ORLANDO, Fla. – Donovan Mitchell had scored 50 points in a playoff game and lost before doing so on Friday – in Central Florida, no less.
Four years ago, about 20 miles west of downtown Orlando on I-4, in the middle of a mostly deserted supposedly magical kingdom, Mitchell opened the 2020 playoffs in the bubble Disney with an incredible 57 points for the Utah Jazz. They lost by 10 to the Denver Nuggets that day, then won the next three games in the series – the last by Mitchell’s 51 points.
The third time was Friday night against the Orlando Magic. He notched outright 50 points in a 103-96 loss to Orlando in Game 6 of this first-round series, which, like the last series in which Mitchell scored at least 50 in a game, will head to a game 7.
All of this is to say that what is a bit of a silver lining for the Cavs is that at least Mitchell has been in this spot before.
“I think those are the two best words in sports,” Mitchell said, referring to Game 7 that awaits his Cleveland Cavaliers and Orlando at 1 p.m. Eastern on Sunday. “It doesn’t matter what round it is, the first, the second, the third and the final, everything you’ve done for six games really goes out the window. It’s all about desperation, Will.
“Game 7” are two big words for teams that force them. This means they have extended the length of their season by at least two more days; the effort, strategy and hard work put into Game 6 was enough to earn them at least one more game.
It’s magic right now. Orlando survived not only Mitchell’s 50 plays, but also Cleveland’s 66 paint points. The Magic trailed by five heading into the fourth quarter, then dared someone other than Mitchell to beat them. Nobody accepted the bet. Mitchell scored all 18 points for the Cavs in the final quarter. The Magic beat him by 12.
The Cavs are the team that needs to come back from a closeout game in which their best player was great, and it wasn’t enough. Their locker room was filled with players limping around, appendages encased in ice, staring at their phones.
At this point, it’s hard for this team, the one in the corner currently occupied by the Cavs, to generate too much enthusiasm for what lies ahead. Sunday, of course, will be different, or it should be.
There’s so much riding on the outcome of Game 7 for the Cavs — well beyond a crack at No. 1 seed Boston. Jobs are on the line. Players’ futures in Cleveland may well be determined. The reputation of the organization is also on the line. On the final day of the regular season, the Cavs chose Orlando as their opponent by tanking in the fourth quarter of a game they were winning by double digits when it seemed like a victory could change their first round opponent.
But if the Cavs dwell on the issues, or look inwardly at Friday’s missed opportunity, not to mention past embarrassments with road losses in this series, they would be taking on an extra weight they cannot. afford to carry.
Hope weighs less. Lighter is better.
Mitchell lost the only Game 7 he ever played in, against the Nuggets in the bubble. He was so exhausted and devastated by the Finals loss to Denver that Jamal Murray, his opponent in the series, picked him up off the court and hugged him. However, looking back on his memories, Mitchell said the Game 7 experience was “as fun as it could be” even though he lost.
Max Strus played in Game 7 of each of the last two Eastern Conference Finals with the Miami Heat. The Heat narrowly lost in 2022 and beat the Celtics in Game 7 last year to reach the Finals.
Marcus Morris, now seemingly Cleveland’s starting power forward as long as Jarrett Allen remains out, has four Game 7s under his belt. Tristan Thompson, who is also back in the rotation with Allen out, has been on three teams in a Game 7 and won them all. The 2016 one was pretty good, if memory serves.
Mitchell walked past Georges Niang in the locker room Friday night and commented, “You hit one,” meaning a 3-pointer. Niang also returned to the rotation in Game 6 after his first DNP in Game 5 all season. He is now 2 for 15 from 3 in the series. Niang also has experience in Game 7, having been on the wrong end twice, once with Mitchell in Utah and then last year in the conference semifinals with Philadelphia.
Experience is on the Cavs side. The same goes for the field of play. Mitchell, now tied with Allen Iverson for the third-most 50-point playoff games in history (behind Michael Jordan with eight and Wilt Chamberlain with four), scored 78 points in the last two games. Darius Garland reappeared with 44 points in the same sequence. Strus has six 3s in his last two games. That might not sound like much, but in a series where neither team can do much, Strus is trending upward on the most important shot in sports. The road team has yet to win in this series.
“Protect the house,” Garland said repeatedly, as if trying to make the idea come true.
Allen, dealing with a rib injury, is questionable at best for Sunday. Evan Mobley played easily his worst game of the series in Game 6 and twisted his ankle in the first half. Mitchell, once again, twisted his left knee. And Caris LeVert only played seven minutes in Game 6. His left knee was then encased in ice. He scored… check the notes… one point.
These are truths, not excuses. At this time of year, there aren’t any. Any non-debilitating injury cannot impact Game 7, just like Mitchell’s 50 points in Game 6 will not be added to the scoreboard on Sunday.
Everyone starts again. A match to see who moves on. Who’s leaving ?
“If it’s not 50, maybe it’s 60 (points),” Mitchell said. “Maybe it’s 30, 10 and 10. Whatever the game calls for, it’s my job to figure it out and go for it.
“How can we find ways to continually be relentless? I have no doubt it will manifest. I have no doubt Cleveland will show up.
(Top photo: Gary Bassing/NBAE via Getty Images)
News Source : theathletic.com
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