Donovan Mitchell seemed to be half-asleep in the first half of Game 4 of the Cleveland Cavaliers' Eastern Conference semifinal clash against the Detroit Pistons. Facing the prospect of going down 3-1 heading back on the road, the Cavs needed Mitchell to be at his best — especially with Cleveland down by four, 56-52, during the halftime interval.
Mitchell certainly got the memo during the intermission and came alive in the second half. In the third quarter alone, Mitchell scored 21 points as he led the Cavs' barnstorming run to build a double-digit lead that they would not relinquish en route to a 112-102 victory to even up the series at 2-2.
In so doing, Mitchell tied the Cavs playoff record for most points scored in a single quarter in the playoffs, with LeBron James and Kyrie Irving both having scored 21 in a single quarter for Cleveland in the past, as pointed out by the official ClutchPoints account on X (formerly Twitter).
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Mitchell continued this hot streak of his into the fourth quarter, as he scored 18 points during that period to finish with 39 points in the second half — the most anyone has ever scored in a single half in playoff history. On the night, Mitchell recorded a total of 43 points as he dissected the Pistons' defense and helped the Cavs avoid falling down in the series 3-1.
In the playoffs, superstars need to show up for their team, as the margin for error is minimal for every team in the postseason has the capacity to play quality basketball. Mitchell definitely did that and then some for the Cavs on Monday night, and they seem to have figured something out in this matchup against the Pistons.
Of course, the problem is that the Cavs are yet to win a single playoff game on the road this year, but they will have to do that to win this series to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals against the New York Knicks.
Donovan Mitchell seemed to be half-asleep in the first half of Game 4 of the Cleveland Cavaliers' Eastern Conference semifinal clash against the Detroit Pistons. Facing the prospect of going down 3-1 heading back on the road, the Cavs needed Mitchell to be at his best — especially with Cleveland down by four, 56-52, during the halftime interval.