Donovan Mitchell delivered another unforgettable postseason masterpiece on Monday, powering the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 112-103 victory over the Detroit Pistons and tying their second-round matchup at 2-2. Cleveland entered halftime trailing by four points and facing the possibility of falling into a dangerous 3-1 deficit, but Mitchell completely transformed the game after the break.
After scoring only four points in the opening half, Mitchell erupted for 39 in the final two quarters. That total matched the highest scoring output ever recorded in one half of a playoff game, adding another extraordinary chapter to his already remarkable playoff résumé. His 43-point finish also marked his fourth 40-point postseason game with Cleveland, moving him past Kyrie Irving for second place in franchise history behind only LeBron James.
A historic third-quarter surge changes everything
The Cavaliers opened the third quarter with overwhelming force, unleashing a 23-0 burst that immediately flipped the contest. According to the play-by-play era, no team in the past 30 years had ever started a playoff half with more unanswered points. Including Cleveland’s final basket before halftime, the run stretched to 25 straight points, making it the second-largest unanswered scoring streak of its kind in that span.
Mitchell was at the center of the eruption from the opening moments of the half, personally scoring eight points in the first 96 seconds of the third quarter. His relentless attack fueled what quickly became a full-scale “Cavalanche,” overwhelming Detroit before the Pistons could respond.
Mitchell’s playoff pedigree grows stronger
By the end of the third quarter alone, Mitchell had piled up 21 points, marking the fifth time in his postseason career that he has scored at least 20 points in a single playoff quarter. Since play-by-play tracking began in 1997, only Stephen Curry and Jamal Murray have equaled that achievement.
This latest scoring explosion adds to a long list of playoff scoring feats for Mitchell. During his time with Utah, he produced 57 points against Denver in 2020, the third-highest single-game scoring performance in playoff history. Later in that same series, he added 51 more, becoming one of only four players ever to score at least 50 points twice in a single postseason series, alongside Michael Jordan, Allen Iverson, and Jamal Murray. In 2024, he also posted a 50-point game against Orlando.
The series shifts to decisive finish
Although Mitchell had not been at his sharpest throughout much of Cleveland’s seven-game first-round survival against Toronto, and despite shooting just 12-for-39 from beyond the arc in this series, this breakout felt inevitable. Over the last three games against Detroit, he has amassed 109 points, once again proving his reputation as one of basketball’s premier playoff performers.
With the Cavaliers’ dominant comeback restoring momentum, the series is now reduced to a best-of-three battle beginning with Game 5 on Wednesday in Detroit.