Donovan Mitchell sends strong message to Knicks after Cavaliers' Game 2 loss

Donovan Mitchell and the Cleveland Cavaliers came into Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the New York Knicks with the hope of evening out the series, but they fell for a second time, 109-93.

Mitchell scored 26 points and James Harden clocked 18 for the Cavaliers. Now, the Cavaliers head into Game 3 on Saturday, and this time, it's on home turf.

Following the game, Mitchell spoke with reporters about the loss and whether the Cavs are "tired." While the Knicks won their Eastern Conference semifinal series in a sweep and were able to rest up before the Cavs series, Cleveland played all the way to Game 7 of their series against the Detroit Pistons and only had one day of rest before the Knicks series began.

Donovan Mitchell says the Cavaliers are ready to take on the Knicks in Game 3

So, are the Cavs tired? Not even close, at least according to Mitchell.

"We're not tired," Mitchell told reporters after Game 2. "We're ready to go for Game 3."

Mitchell was also positive about the game and his team's performance. He said the issue was that the Cavs "just didn't make shots" but that he "loved everything about the looks we got."

"Some days you just miss the open ones. We got great looks," he said. "Sometimes we're in and out, and sometimes they're short. Offensively, I'm not worried at all. We did a really good job getting to the paint trying to find guys, and I mean, that's why our assist total was low. It's just because we couldn't make shots and it was everybody.

"So, nothing to hang our head about. They protected home court, and we've seen this before. So we got to go get Game 3."

Mitchell is clearly sending a message to both the Knicks and his teammates. He's proud of the Cavaliers and not worried about coming back in this series. Now, it's onto Game 3 in Cleveland.