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The Cleveland Cavaliers didn’t just lose Game 2 of their Eastern Conference playoff series against the Indiana Pacers. They let it slip through their fingers. Leading by seven with 57 seconds remaining, the Cavs endured one of the most staggering collapses in franchise playoff history, ultimately falling 120-119. And yet, amid the wreckage of another heart-wrenching postseason moment, there were signs of something unexpected: A lifeline.
Sixteen hours after a dispiriting Game 1 defeat, Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson challenged his team to rediscover their identity. For most of Game 2, they did. Cleveland came out with energy. They dictated pace, imposed physicality, and looked like the 64-win juggernaut that led the East.
Cleveland leaned on a shortened rotation and a faster, spaced-out lineup. Sure, this was necessitated by the absences of Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, and De’Andre Hunter. But it still pushed Indiana off its rhythm. The Cavs forced nine turnovers in the first quarter, held the Pacers to just 15 points, and built multiple 20-point leads. They moved the ball and trusted each other. Even Indiana head coach Rick Carlisle admitted his team was rattled by Cleveland's attack.
And yet, all of that evaporated in less than a minute.
“[It’s] just embarrassing,” veteran Tristan Thompson muttered as he stormed out of the locker room. “Can’t throw that game away. Gotta grow up.”
Max Strus, who played a key role with his shooting and grit, was even more blunt.
“A minute left. Up seven. Can’t lose that game,” Strus said. “Just gotta be better.”
But they did. In the most excruciating way possible. A missed box-out led to an Aaron Nesmith put-back. A careless backcourt violation. A botched inbounds pass. Then Tyrese Haliburton, cold for most of the night, hit the go-ahead three with just seconds left.
Game. Series momentum. Gone.
The Cavs might have found their saving grace despite their Game 2 loss to the Pacers
There was something different about this loss, despite its devastating finality. Not in result, but in process.
The Cavs found a style that worked. The one-big lineup without Mobley or Allen together allowed more pace and space. The offense moved with purpose. While the three-point shots still weren’t falling, making just 11 in Game 2, the Cavs dominated the paint and the glass. They won the turnover battle and created havoc on defense. Cleveland looked cohesive, energized, and connected.
Donovan Mitchell, playing through a calf strain, turned in one of the most remarkable individual playoff performances in Cavs history. He scored 48 points, attacked relentlessly, and kept Cleveland afloat even as the wheels fell off around him. He limped off the court drained, dehydrated, and frustrated, but defiant.
“I’m proud of every individual who put up a fight tonight,” Mitchell said. “We’ve shown how deep we are as a team, how great we are as a unit.
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” …We can sit here and dwell on this and be home in about four or five days, or we can move on and take some things that we did really well and go from there. It sucks. It stings. But I believe in everybody in the locker room. We believe in each other.”
That’s the crux of it. Despite injuries to three starters, a thinned-out bench, and the sting of surrendering homecourt, Cleveland found something in Game 2 that might be their key to survival: defensive aggression, lineup flexibility, and Mitchell’s brilliance.
They just have to replicate it and finish.
Cleveland's belief still hasn't wavered
It's not just Mitchell who believes that the Cavs are made of sterner stuff. Big man Jarrett Allen, who was a two-way force in Game 2, echoed similar sentiments to Mitchell postgame.
“I feel like we outplayed them for the majority of the game,” Allen said. “And then towards the end, we had our mental lapses, but we found the system that works. We found the style of play for us that is able to win against a team like this. So now, it’s just will we be able to replicate it?”
The margin for error is gone. Only five teams in NBA history have overcome a 0-2 deficit after dropping both games at home. The Cavs are trying to become the sixth.
To do it, they must recommit to the identity that got them here: depth, discipline, and methodical control, while harnessing the newfound edge they discovered in desperation. There’s no room for moral victories anymore.
“We've got to get two in Indy,” Mitchell said. “Simple as that.”
And suddenly, even after a loss this painful, it doesn’t feel impossible.
