Donovan Mitchell may have missed some crucial free throws towards the end of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ season-ending 114-105 Game 5 loss to the Indiana Pacers, but he showed up with a steely determination and the resolve that they were not about to be sent packing just yet. He battled through an ankle injury, risked further harm by attacking the rim over and over, but in the end, it wasn’t enough.
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Mitchell, who overcame an 8-25 shooting night en route to scoring 35 points in a losing effort, was somber in his postgame presser and delivered the cold hard reality that has now come to define what was once a dream season for him and the Cavs.
“We took a step in the right direction but we didn’t win a championship. And we didn’t complete the end goal. No moral victories here. We just didn’t get the job done. There’s really nothing else to be said,” Mitchell said in his postgame presser, via NBA TV on X (formerly Twitter).
As sad as this turn of events may be, this is the sobering reality that the Cavs have to accept. They can point to a number of factors that contributed to their undoing: Darius Garland wasn’t 100 percent, Evan Mobley and De’Andre Hunter each missed a game, and even Mitchell was banged-up by the end of the series.
But championship teams figure out a way to overcome adversity, and the Cavs simply were not able to execute when they needed to. They will forever rue their heartbreaking Game 2 defeat and their horrific performance in Game 4 where they might as well not have shown up. And they will have a long offseason to reflect upon their shortcomings as they exit the playoffs in the second round in just five games for the second consecutive year
