Subscribe
Follow Us
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.
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).
"We just didn't get the job done. There's really nothing else to be said."
Donovan Mitchell reflects on their season down the drain after getting eliminated in the 2nd Round 🗣️
(via @NBATV)pic.twitter.com/jrah4rqC0c
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) May 14, 2025
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.
Donovan Mitchell did his best despite Cavs' playoff exit
Donovan Mitchell did whatever he could to lift the Cavs in their second-round matchup against the Pacers. But in the end, it was not enough. Even with a horrible Game 4 performance in which he finished with just 12 points after exiting early due to an ankle injury, Mitchell averaged 34.2 points in the series despite facing immense defensive attention from Indiana.
Even in Game 5, everyone can see how hard Mitchell was playing; he was still attacking the rim with reckless abandon, unafraid to re-aggravate his ankle injury, and he was the Cavs' most reliable source of offense even though he missed 17 of his 25 attempts from the field. Mitchell is the last person any reasonable Cavs fan would blame for their series loss vs. the Pacers.
