The Cleveland Cavaliers returned from Detroit frustrated after another missed chance, but Donovan Mitchell insists the issues can be corrected as the series moves back to Ohio.
Following Thursday’s 107-97 loss to the Detroit Pistons—giving the East’s top seed a 2-0 lead in the second-round series—Mitchell pointed to self-inflicted errors, rushed offense, and rebounding breakdowns as the main reasons Cleveland couldn’t complete its comeback.
“They made timely shots, grabbed timely offensive boards, and we missed timely opportunities,” Mitchell said. “They countered, hit their shots, and did what they needed to do.”
The Cavaliers erased a 14-point deficit and briefly led 81-79 early in the fourth quarter after opening the final period on a 6-0 run. Detroit responded quickly behind Cade Cunningham and Duncan Robinson, while Cleveland missed all 11 of its 3-point attempts in the fourth quarter.
Mitchell scored 31 points and consistently attacked the paint, but the Cavaliers couldn’t maintain offensive rhythm late in the game.
“Playoff basketball is a different game,” Mitchell said. “Sometimes I think we overthink because we’ve had some of the best offense late in games over the past 82 games, and we just start to speed ourselves up.”
Cleveland has now fallen behind by double digits in seven of its last eight playoff games, a trend Mitchell described as “self-inflicted.”
“I think the biggest thing starts with it being self-inflicted,” Mitchell said. “The way we started hasn’t been great.”
Spacing issues also became a major topic after James Harden struggled, shooting 3-for-13 from the field, finishing with 10 points and four turnovers while taking only two shots in the second half.
Mitchell defended his teammate, saying the Cavaliers must create cleaner looks for him.
“He’s James Harden,” Mitchell said. “We’re not worried. He’ll figure it out, and we need to do a better job around him—whether it’s spacing or putting him in different positions.”
Mitchell referenced a late-game possession where he believed he could have helped Harden avoid pressure from Detroit’s defense.
“On the last possession where he lost the ball, I could have stayed in the corner with Thompson,” Mitchell said. “Just little things like that—we need to be on the same page.”
The Cavaliers looked much more dangerous offensively in the third quarter when they increased their pace and forced Detroit to defend in transition. Mitchell said rebounding and stops are directly tied to that improvement.
“When we get stops, we have to secure the board and push,” Mitchell said. “You can’t match up in transition. It’s a lot of scrambling.”
Jarrett Allen, who bounced back from a quiet Game 1 with 22 points and seven rebounds, echoed Mitchell’s comments about Cleveland rushing offensively.
“We speed ourselves up,” Allen said. “We don’t play our brand of basketball. We start slow, and those things pile up.”
Allen also defended Evan Mobley, who finished with just one rebound despite playing 36 minutes. According to Allen, the stat sheet didn’t reflect Mobley’s impact by boxing out and helping teammates collect defensive boards.
“The stat sheet shows one rebound, but his impact on the glass was far greater than that,” Allen said.
Detroit has now won five straight playoff games since nearly being eliminated by Orlando in the first round. Cunningham finished with 25 points and 10 assists in Game 2, while Tobias Harris added 21 points.
The series now shifts to Cleveland, where the Cavaliers swept Toronto 4-0 in the opening round. Mitchell insisted the team remains confident despite facing an 0-2 deficit.
“We’ll be fine,” Mitchell said. “We’ll figure it out.”
