Donovan Mitchell took responsibility for the Cavaliers’ woeful offense in Saturday’s loss at Orlando, writes ESPN’s Kendra Andrews. Mitchell was held scoreless in the second half — and Cleveland could only score 29 points after halftime — in a lopsided loss that tied the series at 2-2. “It’s not possible to score so little in a match like this,” she said. “It starts with me. I didn’t score in the second half. I started the second half like this for every series. Ten points scored (by Cleveland in the third quarter) is outrageous. We have to be better. I have to be better. I’m disappointed in myself and I’ll have to do better.”
Mitchell was much better in the first half than in the second of the entire series, and the Magic managed to shut him down completely today, largely thanks to the work of Jalen Suggs, who limited Mitchell to 1-of-6 shooting with three turnovers as his primary defender. The Cavs will have to find a way to unleash Mitchell when the series resumes Tuesday to avoid a second straight first-round exit.
“It’s 2-2. Give credit where it’s due. They did their business at home. That’s all,” Mitchell said. “It’s upsetting that we didn’t respond, but we’ll find a way to do it at our house, like we did in the first two games. Otherwise we’ll go on vacation early. But they did it for two games. we did it for two games. Now it’s best of three.”
