Donovan Mitchell Makes NBA History in Cavaliers' Game 1 Loss vs. Pacers

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Paolo Songco | Last updated May 4, 2025 8:56 PM ET

Donovan Mitchell did all he could for the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday. Unfortunately for the Cavs, it just wasn't enough as they suffered an unexpected 121-112 loss to the Indiana Pacers in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals.

Mitchell went off for a game-high 33 points, five rebounds, four assists, a steal and zero turnovers in 34 minutes of action. The six-time All-Star, however, went just 13-of-30 from the field, while also missing all but one of his 11 attempts from deep.

Despite the loss, however, Mitchell was still able to rewrite the history books with his strong performance in Game 1. According to NBA Stats on X, Mitchell now holds the record for the most consecutive 30+ point Game 1 outings with eight straight.

With 31 PTS tonight, Donovan Mitchell now has 8 consecutive Game 1's with 30+!

That's the longest streak in NBA history #NBAPlayoffs presented by Google pic.twitter.com/UorRoQSr7s
— NBA.com/Stats (@nbastats) May 5, 2025

While this is an undeniably impressive feat from Mitchell, the fact of the matter is that it doesn't really matter much after the Cavs lost on Sunday.

Mitchell had to carry an even heavier load in Game 1 with Darius Garland sidelined again with a toe injury. Garland himself said that he hopes to play in Game 2, but nothing is guaranteed at this point.

As for the Cavs, not only was this their first defeat in the playoffs, but the fact that they lost at Rocket Arena means that they have forfeited home-court advantage to the Pacers in this series.

Mitchell and the Cavs will now have to win Game 2 on Tuesday. Another loss would mean having to go to Indiana for Games 3 and 4, down 2-0. That would be far from an ideal scenario for Cleveland and its championship aspirations, which have just taken a significant hit with Sunday's tough loss.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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