CLEVELAND — Donovan Mitchell walked out to the court of a nearly-empty Rocket Arena, after the fans had left and the Indiana Pacers’ celebration had died down.
He sat on the bench, the Cavaliers’ playoff run and season over, looking around the arena that only a few minutes before was electric with energy. Now, that arena was virtually silent, except for the cleaning crews getting to work.
Mitchell sat in that silence, still seemingly in disbelief. The Cavs lost to the Pacers, again, this time in Game 5 to finish off the series, 4-1. Their road to the NBA Finals fell short, again. He didn’t advance past the second round of the playoffs, again.
“Just couldn’t believe it. Didn’t want to believe it. Don’t want to believe it. Still don’t want to believe it,” Mitchell said later, speaking with reporters, still visibly upset. “It’s tough. It’s tough to win this league. Give them credit. We didn’t do the things necessary [to win]. I love playing in that (expletive) arena, man. Like, that energy, that crowd.
“We were 0-3 at home. Let the city down, man. This place is special. This place is really special. And we didn’t get it done, I guess. Especially at home — that’s what hurts, you know?”
Donovan Mitchell, Cavaliers fall short in NBA playoffs
Mitchell appeared to be equal parts shell-shocked and angry. Recently described by coach Kenny Atkinson as a “superstar who does the dirty work,” he poured every ounce of effort into the series. He averaged 41.3 points in Games 1-3 before getting hurt halfway through Game 4, then scored 35 points in Game 5. He took numerous hard hits to the floor while driving to the rim. He played through calf and ankle injuries.
But in the end, for the Cavs, the mistakes piled up. Perhaps none more glaring than three consecutive missed free throws with 1:49 left in the fourth quarter of a six-point game. Mitchell did race down the floor after an Evan Mobley block a few moments later and drill a 3 from the corner, but the missed free throws were still haunting him.
Cavs react to losing NBA playoff series to Indiana Pacers, Video
Cleveland Cavaliers Evan Mobley and Donovan Mitchell react to losing to the Indiana Pacers in the NBA playoffs.
“Winning is tough. You gotta be willing to damn near die out there on the floor. Not to say we weren’t, but for a full 48 minutes on a consistent basis, you gotta be that desperate,” Mitchell said. “Can’t have little mistakes. I can’t get a steal and get momentum, go behind my back, knowing everybody’s behind me and lose the ball and give the ball right back to them. You know what I’m saying?
“Tyrese [Haliburton] has hit four threes. I can’t not switch up. He hits a (expletive) 3 from the logo, it changes the game. Can’t miss three free throws. Like, I don’t give a damn how tired [we are].”
It’s the second consecutive season in which the Cavs were ousted in Game 5 of the second round, despite this year including a 64-win regular season. And for him personally, it’s his eighth trip to the playoffs that have not included the conference finals, a narrative that will only grow louder.
As a star player taking accountability for coming up short, Mitchell knows a storm of negativity is coming. As he said, the Cavs came up short of their end goal, and there “are no moral victories.”
“I told you during the year, we were gonna be judged off this,” Mitchell said, referencing the playoffs. “There’s gonna be a lot of talk. That’s what comes with it. And we didn’t capitalize. So now we got to use this as motivation. Everybody’s going to write us off. Everybody in here. I mean, it’s not personal. So what are we going to do about it next year?”
And, Mitchell knows he and the Cavs can only endure another summer of frustration, of anger, of confusion. On several fronts, the Cavs took some massive steps forward in 2024-25, elevating themselves to no-doubt title contenders. They feel they have enough to win a championship. And yet, the job remains undone, and they must now wait another year.
“I think the biggest thing is, I mean, I’ve been doing this eight years, and I’ve been in the same round eight years. These things aren’t easy,” Mitchell said. “Just when you think you’ve gotten somewhere, there’s another level. … We took a step. We didn’t take two. We took one. And getting beat down like this — and y’all are gonna write some (expletive) about us, man, and that’s gonna be fuel.
“Like, fuel for everybody. Y’all gonna say a lot of (expletive). Y’all are, and that’s what it takes. I’ve been here, so I understand. We understand, and now we just got to use it as fuel for next year.”
On his way out of the room following the press conference, Mitchell loudly hit the door. The anger from this loss, clearly, will keep resonating deep into the offseason.
