Cavs, Donovan Mitchell Rise High, Get Victory They So Desperately Needed

Only this time, he had more help. And now we have a series.

Playing at full strength for the first time in two weeks, the Cavs used a relentless zone defense and Mitchell’s 43 points to overtake the Pacers by a 126-104 count Friday night at Indiana. 

The Pacers still lead the series, 2-1, with Game 4 set for Sunday night, also in Indiana. But now the Cavs have life and likely a massive jolt of confidence. They took control early with leads of 11-0 and 25-10, then withstood a first-quarter Pacers run that tied it.

After that, it was pretty much all Cavs. Believe it or not, it wasn’t necessarily all Mitchell — though he seemed to get a bucket every time the Cavs seemingly started to slow down.

We were also able to witness what a major difference Darius Garland makes. He played for the first time in five games, taking the court despite a painful big toe sprain. Garland gave the Pacers an entirely new problem right away, again proving he can get to wherever he wants on the court — bum toe be darned.

Along with that, Friday marked the returns of Evan Mobley (ankle) and De’Andre Hunter (thumb) after one-game absences. Not surprisingly, each made a noticeable difference. That was especially the case for Mobley, who was absolutely magnificent when it came to protecting the rim.

Meanwhile, everyone else did the required job out on the perimeter, courtesy of coach Kenny Atkinson’s 3-2 zone defense. That meant the Cavs used three guards/wings to defend the 3-point arc, with Mobley and Jarrett Allen aptly controlling the paint.

Indiana star Tyrese Haliburton was suffocated to the tune of 2-of-8 shooting and just four points. The Cavs seem to realize that if you control Haliburton, you control the Pacers. And for the first time this series, Cleveland had the bodies to do it.

Offensively, the ball generally moved and the Cavs typically took only the most efficient of shots. Other than Mitchell’s eruption, the scoring was fairly balanced — Strus finished with 20 on 8-of-12 shooting, Allen went for 19 points and 12 rebounds, and Mobley went for 18 and 13, respectively.

Garland added 10 points in 25 critical minutes and Hunter scored eight.

Another meaningful stat? The Cavs corralled a whopping 18 offensive rebounds, compared to just four for the Pacers.

Basically, the Cavaliers refused to be denied and sent that message right from the start. Then they did it again in the second quarter — and again whenever Indiana thought maybe it could muster up a comeback.

So, yes, this was the team that finished 64-18 and with the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. For one night, the Cavs were totally back. That is almost always good enough and undoubtedly a great sign moving forward.