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With their season teetering on the edge, the Cleveland Cavaliers walked into Gainbridge Fieldhouse for Game 3 knowing only one outcome would do against the Indiana Pacers. Thanks to the determined leadership of Donovan Mitchell and Max Strus, the Cavs didn’t just survive their playoff battle. They dominated.
Behind Mitchell’s 43 points and a gutsy all-around performance from Strus, the Cavs throttled the Pacers 126-104 in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The victory trimmed the Pacers’ series lead to 2-1 and delivered Cleveland its first win of the second round emphatically.
“We haven’t done anything,” Mitchell said. “We won one game [and] we got to do it again. … I told them, we’re not celebrating. We’re not smiling. We came here to take two games, and we did one.”
The urgency was unmistakable. Three days earlier, the Cavs had suffered a soul-crushing Game 2 collapse, blowing a 20-point lead and falling at home on a Tyrese Haliburton buzzer-beater. In Game 3, they responded with force, fueled by Mitchell’s relentless scoring and Strus’s poise under pressure.
Mitchell, nursing a strained calf, was masterful. He poured in 14 points in the fourth quarter alone. He added nine rebounds and five assists in 37 minutes, joining LeBron James as the only players in Cavs history with consecutive 40-point playoff games.
“I thought he was masterful,” Kenny Atkinson said of Mitchell. “I don't use that word hardly ever. He was masterful in the way he controlled the game, passing, making the right decision, [and] defending.
“He's orchestrating his game. But he's orchestrating the pieces around him. And I thought tonight he was probably the best I've seen him all year, just especially with the pressure they were putting on him.”
Max Strus was on the loose for the Cavs in Game 3
Strus, meanwhile, turned in another quietly sensational outing. He scored 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting, including four three-pointers, and chipped in seven rebounds, seven assists, and a block. Just as crucially, Strus helped the Cavs smother Haliburton, who was limited to a playoff career-low four points.
In this win, the Cavs needed their leaders. They showed up when it mattered most. After Indiana cut an 18-point deficit down to 11 early in the fourth, Gainbridge Fieldhouse came alive. The momentum swung. T.J. McConnell and Pascal Siakam fueled a mini-rally. But Mitchell and Strus answered.
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Out of a timeout, Mitchell corralled an offensive rebound, reset the offense, and buried a tough turnaround jumper over Siakam. After a layup from Bennedict Mathurin, Mitchell hit a step-back three over Aaron Nesmith. Then came the dagger. A routine drive-and-kick to Strus, who drilled a wing triple to push Cleveland’s lead to 112-95 with under seven minutes remaining.
“That's why Donovan Mitchell is Donovan Mitchell,” said Strus. “The guy's a superstar, and he showed you why. We're always going to rely on Don to carry us and take us home. And he did just that.”
Strus, acquired in a sign-and-trade after a Finals run with the Miami Heat, has embraced a vocal leadership role, demanding accountability in film sessions and huddles. His battle-tested edge has been invaluable.
“He knows what it takes just to get to the next level, the next round,” Darius Garland said. “He puts his body and damn near life on the line for us. We really appreciate Max. [He's] shooting the hell out [of] the ball right now, playing really good defense on any guard that we put him on [and] he’s playing his heart out.”
It wasn't just the Donovan Mitchell show in Game 3
That steady resolve has defined Mitchell throughout this postseason. In Game 2, he was a one-man show. In Game 3, he remained dominant but was flanked by a fully engaged squad, including the long-awaited return of Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, and De’Andre Hunter from injury.
Mobley tallied 18 points and 13 rebounds, while Garland added 10 points despite still not being at full strength. Jarrett Allen posted a 19-point, 12-rebound double-double. The Cavs were finally whole again, and it showed.
But despite the win, Cleveland still isn't satisfied. Game 4 awaits Sunday night in Indianapolis, and the Cavs came to take two. They’ve taken one. But if Mitchell and Strus have anything to say about it, they’re not done.
