Donovan Mitchell, Cavaliers storm back, oust Magic in Game 7
Donovan Mitchell, Cavaliers storm back, oust Magic in Game 7
CLEVELAND -- Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell brought the basketball up the court early in the third quarter of Game 7 against the Orlando Magic.
His team was amid a ferocious comeback after trailing by as much as 18 points in the first half. Mitchell took three dribbles after he crossed half court to position himself at the top of the 3-point arc and launched a 26-foot shot.
That basket cut their deficit to four. It swung the momentum back clearly to their side, and the Cavs rode the wave to their eventual 106-94 win -- pushing them into the Eastern Conference semifinals for the first time since 2019. It's their first time making it to the second round without LeBron James in 30 years.
Coming off of his 50-point game in Game 6, Mitchell scored 39 points in Game 7. His 89 points over the final two games of the series are the second most in Games 6 and 7 in NBA history, trailing only Allen Iverson's 90 in 2001.
"I'm tired of losing in the first round," Mitchell said. "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 has been laboring through a knee injury, the same one that's lingered all season. Throughout the game, he hobbled around, grimaced and fought against his body. But, in his eyes, he had no choice.
Throughout most of the first half, Mitchell struggled. He had 15 points and was just 1-of-7 with Jalen Suggs as his primary defender.
From midway through the second quarter until the end of the third, however, Mitchell outscored the Magic 20-19 on his own. All but six of his points -- nine of his 11 field goals made -- were in the paint.
"He's a competitor," Darius Garland said. "He's a go-getter. He's a winner -- that's all he talks about. He wants us to get over this hump. He's going to do anything possible to get us over it."
After falling behind early, the Cavs remained confident. Mitchell said he was glad Orlando went on its run early because that gave Cleveland time to mount a rebuttal. In the closing minutes of the second half, the Cavs' climb back into the game was slow and gritty.
In the locker room at halftime, the message being spread was to remain even-kneeled. Then in the third quarter, the Cavs finally put together their run. It started with Mitchell's 3.
Cleveland's 18-point comeback is the largest in a Game 7 since at least 1997. After the Magic went up 47-29 with 5:10 to go in the second quarter, the Cavs outscored them by 30 through the rest of the game, shooting 57% from the field while holding Orlando to 27%.
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