Donovan Mitchell poured his heart and soul into the Cleveland Cavaliers' latest playoff game. He put up a monster 48-point performance in a game where the Cavaliers needed him to be a monster, but it wasn't enough. Utah Jazz fans are quite familiar with this.
Full disclosure: No one should blame Mitchell for the Cavaliers blowing a seven-point lead with 48 seconds left in regulation. The 48 points he put up were how Cleveland was not only up in this game, but also how they dominated 80% of it before the Pacers clawed themselves back into it.
If the Cavaliers had their full squad, which they haven't had for two games now, we would all be singing a very different tune at the moment. There's no doubt that having Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, and De'Andre Hunter would have changed how tonight turned out.
But that's just how the cookie crumbled, and now the Jazz alum and the Cavaliers are heading to Indiana down 2-0. It's just a downright travesty, and what's worse is that the Jazz fanbase has seen this story play out before.
Fantastic playoff performances by Mitchell went to waste in Utah too
Surprisingly, Mitchell had his fourth-highest scoring output in his playoff career against the Pacers. He had a 50-point performance as a Cavalier last year, which clinched their series win over the Orlando Magic, and he had two 50-plus point performances for the Jazz.
Both were in the bubble in their first-round series against the Denver Nuggets. One of them got the Jazz the win to go up 3-1 on Denver, but Jazz fans know his career-best ended up being a Shakespearian tragedy for both him and Utah.
Mitchell scored 57 points in Game 1 of that series, where he flat-out dominated the Nuggets in any way he could. Sadly, the Jazz just barely missed the mark.
Again, his team's failures are not on him. If anything, Spida has seemingly been cursed by the basketball Gods for playing his absolute best, which somehow just isn't good enough to get his team the win sometimes.
Losing that game had dire consequences for the Jazz vs. Nuggets series. Factoring in the next three games, the Jazz could have swept the Nuggets had they just won Game 1, but instead, they lost the series in seven. While there's no telling what the future holds for the Cavaliers, going back to Indiana with the series tied is much better than being down 2-0.
The Cavaliers fans have already experienced the pain of losing a game they should have won, but wasting a golden Mitchell performance makes it even worse. If it makes them feel any better, Jazz fans know how they feel.