Donovan Mitchell understood the assignment. With Darius Garland (toe), Evan Mobley (ankle) and De’Andre Hunter (thumb) all out for Game 2 Tuesday night, and the Cavaliers down 0-1 and desperately needing a win, it all fell to Mitchell — and he dropped 48 points. Behind Mitchell, the Cavaliers led by as many as 20 a couple of times, including midway through the third quarter.
However, scoring is only half the game.
Cleveland could not get a stop when it mattered, giving up 36 points in the fourth quarter. Despite that, the Cavaliers led by seven with 48 seconds left — and gave up an 8-0 run, capped off by Tyrese Haliburton getting the offensive rebound on his own missed free throw, stepping back and hitting the game-winning 3-pointer.