CLEVELAND (AP) 鈥� Donovan Mitchell had his worst first half in a playoff game since joining the Cleveland Cavaliers in September 2022.
No problem. The All-Star guard followed it up with one of the best 24-minute stretches by a player in NBA playoff history Monday night.
After scoring only four points in the first half, Mitchell responded with 39 in the second half, tying the NBA playoff record for most points in a half as the over the Detroit Pistons in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series.
鈥淚t鈥檚 pretty impressive. I’m not sure I鈥檝e seen in the playoffs a turnaround like that where a guy is struggling and just absolutely turns the switch and complete opposite of the first half,鈥� Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said.
Mitchell equaled Eric 鈥淪leepy鈥� Floyd’s record on a free throw with 27.6 seconds remaining. He had a chance to break the record, set in 1987 when Floyd’s Golden State Warriors faced the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference semifinals, but missed his second foul shot.
鈥淓verybody let me know that I missed a free throw to break the record, though,” Mitchell said. “I will say that, but we鈥檙e two and two headed to Detroit. That was what we came home to do and that鈥檚 all that matters.鈥�
Mitchell didn’t score until he made a free throw with 4:19 remaining in the second quarter. He also missed his first six shots from the field before hitting a 3-pointer from the left corner with 2:48 left in the first half.
Despite Mitchell’s early struggles, the Cavaliers only trailed 56-52 at halftime. James Harden and Evan Mobley both kept Cleveland in the game in the first half as they combined for 26 points.
鈥淚 airball the first layup and was missing shots short,” Mitchell said. “Sometimes it鈥檚 natural, right? I wasn鈥檛 really trying to get in there and force it and then just doubling down on the defensive end, trying to take whoever I鈥檓 guarding, take them out of the equation. I鈥檓 not tripping, we were down four at half.
“I always tell y鈥檃ll it鈥檚 not just about the scoring, it鈥檚 about your overall impact on the game. And for me, it was just like, 鈥極K, now I have an opportunity to try to get downhill鈥� and then started going in.鈥�
Mitchell was 12 of 18 from the field in the second half, including three 3-pointers, and was 12 of 13 at the line. Cleveland’s previous mark for most points in a half was 31 by Mitchell in Game 7 of its first-round series against Orlando in 2024.
Mitchell tied a franchise record for points in a quarter with 21 in the third as the Cavaliers seized control, outscoring the Pistons 38-21 in the quarter. He scored 15 during Cleveland鈥檚 24-0 run that went from the last 12 seconds of the first half to the first six minutes of the third quarter.
The 24-0 run was the longest in an NBA playoff game since since Minnesota also scored 24 straight in Game 6 of its Western Conference semifinal series against Denver in 2024. It was also the longest spurt by Cleveland in a postseason game since play-by-play stats were kept in 1997-98. The previous high was 19 in an Eastern semifinal series contest against Boston.
鈥淒onovan Mitchell was killing us, and that鈥檚 pretty much it,” Pistons center Paul Reed said.
It was Mitchell’s eighth playoff game with at least 40 points, his fourth with the Cavaliers. He has at least 30 points in three straight games as the series shifts to Detroit for Game 5 on Wednesday with it even at two games apiece.
Cleveland is still looking for its first road playoff win this season, and will need at least one if it hopes to make the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2018.
鈥淲e鈥檝e had two good games to build off of, but it鈥檚 going to be a hostile environment,” Mitchell said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be a lot of fun. And I think I know we鈥檙e ready for the challenge.鈥�
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