CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Cavs lost their first playoff game of their playoff run, falling 121-112 to the Indiana Pacers on Sunday night in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Donovan Mitchell put together another herculean effort to try and will his team to victory, but Cleveland couldn’t finish the job.
Mitchell became the first player in NBA history to have scored 30 or more points in Game 1 in eight straight series, passing Michael Jordan who accomplished the feat in seven straight series.
Here’s what the six-time All-Star shooting guard said after the loss:
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Q: What do you take away the most from Game 1?
MITCHELL: “Obviously, they made a bunch of shots. They get out in transition. We didn’t make shots, but give them credit. They came in here and handled business. They were physical. We would love to go 16-0, but that’s not how this works. Like I said, they made shots. We gotta be better defensively. Offensively, we didn’t make shots and gotta give them credit. But, you know, not easy to go 16-0. We gotta find a way and respond. That’s the biggest thing. Nothing to hang our heads about. We’ll be fine and we’ll be better.
Q: How much do you think this series is gonna test you guys mentally and physically?
“Thousand percent. Thousand percent. I mean, like I just said, it would have been great to come in here and sweep these guys too, but that’s not how this works, man. This is an uphill battle. It’s always gonna be. It’s the playoffs. I said it during media the other day, like, this is an experienced basketball team. They’re not gonna waver. They’ve been there before. And for us, this is one game, you know what I mean? The biggest thing is just how do you respond? Look at the film. But this is what it’s about. Mentally, physically, continually going and going and going. They hit first and we got to respond.”
Q: What did you think about the shot quality that you guys had?
“We missed good looks. We missed a lot of good looks. And then when you miss shots, that’s when they get going in transition. So I like a lot of the looks we got. I mean, I was 1-of-11 from three and some of them were wide open. Some of the shots I’ve made. The biggest thing is, when the shots aren’t falling, how do you respond? But when a team like this, they run like that, it makes it tough. So, yeah, you know, we miss shots and we’ll be better and, you know, we’ll be ready for game two.”
Q: A lot of the talk leading into the series was about the pace that the Pacers play at. How did you think that you guys adjusted to that?
“I think in the first half, they dictated. Throughout the game, they dictated. I think in the third quarter we made our run and we kind of figured it out in different ways. I wouldn’t say we figured it out because we lost, but we figured some things worked and now we gotta go back and watch it and watch why it worked and then go from there. But like I said, you gotta give them credit. They came in here and dictated the game. So it’s on us to win, make adjustments and be ready for Game 2.”
Q: In that second half, things were working a little bit for you guys. Donovan, for you, what was your message as one of the leaders of this team going into that second half of cleaning things up?
“We got down 12. It was all right. This is nothing to freak out about, you know what I’m saying? Understanding that it’s a long game, they made a lot, they made some shots and like I said, you gotta come in and give them credit. To make shots on the road, Game 1, set that tone, that’s credit to them. But, you know, never hanging your head, don’t trip. That’s pretty much been the message the whole time. And even tonight, understanding that, look, we didn’t play our best basketball, we’ll be better. So our message is pretty much consistent regardless. But, you know, understanding that, hey, we found some things that we can be better at and we’ll be better.”
Q: Do you feel like you’ll be able to carry those adjustments over into Game 2?
“We gotta look at the film and then we gotta execute. I think that’s the biggest thing. I could tell you what it was, but we gotta go out there and execute on the floor, and I have no doubt that we will. That’s the team we’ve shown to be, and it’s one game. I mean, yeah, we lost home court advantage technically, but it’s one game. And we just gotta respond for Game 2.”
Q: You talked the other day about Tyrese Haliburton. What does Andrew Nembhard do for them? What did he do for them tonight and what does he sort of allow them to do overall?
“He went 5-of-6 from three, hit some big shots. But he’s been doing that. He did it last year against the Knicks, and he had damn near a triple-double against the Celtics, averaging. So he’s tough, man. He’s a guy that obviously we know what he brings defensively, but offensively, when he’s able to give them that, him and Nesmith when they’re able to give them that, it’s huge. And then it opens the lane for Tyrese to kind of get in there and create. So he’s tough. But ultimately, for us, we gotta find ways to contain everybody and be better.”
Q: Is there a difference between knowing that they play really fast and they play with force and then actually seeing it?
“Yeah, I mean, you don’t practice at that pace, but ultimately we were able to find ways to we just weren’t able to continue to do it, and that’s on us. We’ll look at the film and find ways to continue to do it.”
Q: You had 30 shot attempts tonight. How do you feel about that in terms of the overall number of shots?
“Right now? My answer is probably like, damn that’s a lot of shots. But, you know, I’ll look back at the film and evaluate it. But ultimately, man, like, just trying to find ways to be aggressive. There are times, obviously I could – I haven’t watched the film, so I can’t, you know, I’m not going to sit here and say this is terrible or great or whatever, but I’ll be better and be better for the group.”
Q: It seemed like a lot of those misses were layups and getting into the paint. Was this more of a jump shot issue?
“We missed shots we make. Yeah, we missed open looks and nothing to hang our head about. We’ve missed shots before and we’ve lost games before from not making shots. But we’re not going to sit here and say, oh, if we make shots, we win games. We gotta find a way to still win this game even though we don’t make shots. Ultimately we didn’t do that tonight. But yeah, we got good looks, man, and you know, don’t hang our head. Just be ready for Game 2.”
Q: Donovan, it came in a loss, but your eighth straight series opening game with 30 points, surpassing Jordan. What does it feel like to get that mark?
“Jordan won Game 1. It’s always great to be in great company, but man, we lost. I shot 30 times. Like I said, I’ll be better. That’s not something I come into – I always try to be aggressive to start a series, but Jordan won Game 1, I didn’t.”