Cleveland Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell is not waving the white flag just yet. He did everything in his power to steal home court at Madison Square Garden.
Cleveland fell to the New York Knicks 109-93 Thursday night, dropping to 2-0 in the Eastern Conference finals.
Mitchell led the charge with 26 points on 8-of-18 shooting and four rebounds. A disastrous third quarter proved too costly. The Knicks erupted for 18 unanswered points, and Cleveland had no answer.
Mitchell walked off the floor defiantly and remained confident that this series is far from over.
"I think it helps just from a mentality standpoint," he said after the game. "This isn't our first time at it, right? This isn't our first time facing adversity. We've been through two game sevens. So being down 2-0, it's not the biggest challenge."
Mitchell is no stranger to playoff pressure. He reached the postseason in eight of his first nine NBA seasons. A 2-0 deficit is steep, but Mitchell is not flinching. The first two games have been hard-fought, and he knows it. Cleveland heads home believing the real series starts now.
"It's just something we just reached right here," Mitchell said. "So let's go ahead and take advantage of it, right? Understand that they're gonna make adjustments. We are as well. And obviously, our process was right tonight. You know, I'm not mad at what we did offensively."
Mitchell pointed to the defensive end as the area needing the biggest adjustments.
"Defensively, make some tweaks and changes, and sometimes you got to tip your cap to the shot making, and that was tonight," he added. "I had to make it really as simple as you. We have to protect home court, and that's really it."
The Cavaliers will need Mitchell's fire and leadership when Game 3 tips off Saturday at Rocket Arena.
