The Cleveland Cavaliers need to prove themselves.
Their doubters spent the entire season calling them pretenders and fake contenders.
They also claimed that Donovan Mitchell wasn’t cut out for the moment.
However, the veteran guard actually has been very good in the playoffs in his career, as shown by CavsMuse on X.
With his 33 points against the Indiana Pacers, Mitchell now holds the longest streak for the most 30+ point games in Game 1s in NBA Playoffs history (8).
Most consecutive 30+ point Game 1s in NBA Playoffs history:
'20-25 DONOVAN MITCHELL – 8
'97-98 Michael Jordan – 7
'91-93 Michael Jordan – 7
'10-12 Kobe Bryant – 6
'89-90 Michael Jordan – 6
'60-64 Wilt Chamberlain – 6 pic.twitter.com/umRr7Agp93— CavsMuse (4/16) (@CavsMuse) May 5, 2025
That’s one more than Michael Jordan, who hit seven in a row twice, from 1997-98 and from 1991-93.
Unfortunately, this wasn’t enough to get the job done for the Cavs in the first game of the 2025 Eastern Conference Semifinals.
Mitchell had to take 30 shots to score his 33 points, and he was 1-of-11 from beyond the arc.
Asked about his shot volume and efficiency, he claimed that he would dig deep into the tape to determine the quality of the shots he took, adding that he needed to stay aggressive.
Mitchell has had some epic scoring performances in the postseason, including for the Utah Jazz, but that hasn’t always translated into success.
He has yet to advance past the second round of the playoffs, and he’s now facing a deficit to do so this season.
Losing to the Pacers would cause irreparable damage to his reputation.
But with Darius Garland out with a toe injury, Mitchell will be forced to do most of the heavy lifting for the Cavaliers in this series.
NEXT: Kenny Atkinson Has Honest Admission About Pacers' Offense On Sunday
