Donovan Mitchell has long established himself as one of the most electric postseason scorers in NBA history, and he was at it again on Monday with 43 points in the Cleveland Cavaliers‘ 112-103 win over the Detroit Pistons to even their second-round series at two games apiece.
This was Mitchell’s fourth playoff game with at least 40 points with the Cavs, which pushes him ahead of Kyrie Irving for the second-most in franchise history and trails only LeBron James‘ 24.
By the way, he had four points at halftime. Do the math, and that’s 39 second-half points for Mitchell, which makes him co-owner of the record for the most points ever scored in a single playoff half.
CBS Sports Research
You talk about coming up huge. The Cavs were close to being on the ropes, down four at halftime and in real danger of going down 3-1 in the series. I know we had three successful 3-1 comebacks in the first round, but it doesn’t happen often. This was essentially a must-win game for the Cavs, and with Mitchell in the captain’s seat, they took off to the tune of a 23-0 run to begin the second half.
That is the most unanswered points a team has scored to open a playoff half in the last 30 years. Add in the final two points of the first half, and the Cavs’ run of 25 unanswered points is the second-biggest run of its kind in the play-by-play era.
Mitchell personally rattled off eight points inside the first 96 seconds of the third quarter, and from there the “Cavalanche” was on. Mitchell wound up with 21 points in the third, marking the fifth time he has put up at least 20 points in a single playoff quarter.
Only Stephen Curry and Jamal Murray have matched that number during the play-by-play era, which dates back to 1997. Again, Mitchell is no stranger to playoff eruptions. While with the Utah Jazz, his 57 points against the Denver Nuggets in the 2020 playoffs are the third-highest single-game output in playoff history.
Later in that series, Mitchell went for 51, making him one of just four players in history to go for 50-plus twice in the same playoff series (joining Michael Jordan, Allen Iverson and Jamal Murray). Additionally, in 2024, he went for 50 against the Orlando Magic in the first round.
Mitchell wasn’t at his best for the bulk of the first round, from which Cleveland barely escaped in seven games vs. the Toronto Raptors, and he’s only 12 for 39 from 3 in this series. But you knew it was only a matter of time before he put on a performance like this. The dude is pure box office. Always has been. He has 109 points over the last three games of this series, which is now down to a best-of-three beginning with Game 5 on Wednesday in Detroit.
