The Cavs were more physical than the Pacers until they weren’t. And now the pain lingers

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CLEVELAND — Seventy minutes after one of the most devastating losses in franchise history, Donovan Mitchell finally hobbled to the podium late Tuesday night, beaten and battered. More treatment, including an IV bag, awaited him when he arrived home.  

This semifinal series with the Indiana Pacers has taken something from the best team in the East and left them crumpled in a heap on the baseline of Rocket Arena. 

One of the few knocks on the Cleveland Cavaliers, one of the only things opponents around the league openly questioned, was how they would respond to physicality. Their lack of physical play has been a concern since this roster was assembled and began to flourish. On a team rich with shooting, depth, length and playmakers, it was one of the only perceived weaknesses. 

How will they react to getting pushed around? 

For 47 minutes Tuesday, despite all of their injuries and absences, the Cavs were the more aggressive team. Every dunk down the lane from Mitchell, Jarrett Allen and Max Strus came with intent. They were the more physical team at both ends of the court. The Pacers trailed by 20 and looked like a team content to steal a game on the road and take the series back to Indianapolis tied 1-1. 

“I thought we outplayed them,” Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said. “That’s the shame in this game. We outplayed them.”

The final minute of the Cavs’ 120-119 loss to the Pacers may haunt this team for months. In a city constructed on scar tissue from devastating sports losses, this served as just one more head wound.

They blew a seven-point lead and couldn’t even get the ball across half court in the final 57 seconds. 

They failed to secure rebounds off missed free throws. Mitchell was whistled for an offensive foul trying to advance the ball across half court. There was an awful turnover on an inbounds play. Atkinson had to burn two timeouts late because the Cavs couldn’t get the ball inbounded. 

Aaron Nesmith comes flying in for the putback ✈️ pic.twitter.com/lQbbSjXTMq

— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) May 7, 2025

Everything that could’ve gone wrong did. Now, a team that was 57 seconds from an even series and rebuilt confidence is staring at a 0-2 deficit on the road as its season hangs in the balance. 

All of the load management during the regular season, the careful protection of Mitchell’s minutes for the last six months, none of it seems to matter now. For in the most important moment of their season, the Cavs were without three of their best players and the ones left behind to fight off the relentless Pacers were gasping for breath. 

Atkinson said multiple times his players “ran out of gas” and he blamed himself for not playing more of his bench. It’s noble but also absurd given the absence of Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and DeAndre Hunter. 

Strus played 39 minutes and Mitchell played 36 — high totals for sure, but nothing outlandish. Mitchell’s calf injury and the high intensity of the playoffs also factor into this. But the real reason the Cavs lost was because they were playing 2-on-5 in the final minutes, and no one else available to Atkinson off the bench would’ve changed that. 

OH MY GOODNESS DONOVAN MITCHELL 🤯

He’s now up to 21 points in 18 minutes on TNT! pic.twitter.com/Hw5tXMi5rv

— NBA (@NBA) May 7, 2025

Mitchell and Strus, who set a career postseason high with 23 points, were the only reliable options on a night Ty Jerome completely unraveled, and Dean Wade and Isaac Okoro occupied space on the floor but offered little on the offensive end. 

Wade’s 10 rebounds were a pleasant surprise for a team that struggles rebounding at times, but he and Okoro do not scare the Pacers at all.  

This has been a miserable series for Jerome, whose final numbers in Game 1 far exceeded his actual impact. Game 2 was a complete disaster — he shot 1 of 14 and allowed Tyrese Halliburton to get off a clean look at the game-winning stepback 3 in the game’s final seconds. 

Mitchell and Allen, meanwhile, were clearly exhausted by the fourth quarter. Mitchell and others struggled to create separation in the final minute against an Indiana team that just kept coming.

The Pacers are like Novocaine — sooner or later, they’ll wear you down. Two of their last three games have ended in dramatic rallies from big deficits in the final minute. The first one eliminated the Milwaukee Bucks, the second put the Cavs in a massive 0-2 deficit.  

No one can question Mitchell’s toughness after he gutted out a 48-point performance on one good leg, displaying the type of effort and willpower necessary to win a championship. The fact Garland, Mobley and Hunter all missed such a crucial postseason game will likely become a talking point for years to come. 

Garland has missed two weeks now with a painful sprained toe. Mobley was 48 hours removed from a sprained ankle. Garland’s toe has been labeled as a pain tolerance issue. The fact he couldn’t even try to play in such a crucial game is certainly surprising. 

So here we are, somehow right back a year later with this team. Last year, it was Allen in these same crosshairs. A rib injury knocked him out of the first-round series against Orlando. It ultimately ended his season. 

Now it’s Garland and Mobley who will have two more days of rest before the Cavs play a must-win game Friday in Indianapolis. We all know the history of teams facing a 3-0 series deficit. If the Cavs lose Game 3, their season is likely finished.  

Mitchell insists he’ll be ready for Game 3 and said it was never a question whether he would play in Game 2. Calf strains are typically measured in weeks, not hours or days. A calf strain ended his season last year in this round. He’s determined not to let it happen again. 

But who will be standing next to him? 

(Photo: Jason Miller / Getty Images)

This news was originally published on this post .

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