Mitchell the man to end Cavs’ NBA playoff slide

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Mitchell the man to end Cavs’ NBA playoff slide

Donovan Mitchell has refused to let another fourth-quarter lead slip away from Cleveland.

So with home fans on their feet, expecting Indiana to cut what had been a 24-point deficit to single digits, Mitchell took the game into his own hands. He hit a 13-foot fadeaway, then a pull-up three-pointer and finally found Max Strus for another triple and the Cavaliers went on to a 126-104 victory on Friday night.

“I couldn’t let it happen again, and it wasn’t just me,” Mitchell said after finishing with 43 points and nine rebounds to cut their Eastern Conference semi-final series deficit to 2-1.

“I know I scored, but like, we got stops, made plays. But for me, just trying to be the aggressor.”

The road team has won all three games, and the Pacers will have another chance to break that trend Sunday in Game 4.

But Cleveland were desperate to avoid falling into a 3-0 hole and used everything in their arsenal to hold on.

NBA Defensive Player of the Year Evan Mobley and key backup De’Andre Hutner returned from injuries after missing Game 2. All-Star guard Darius Garland also returned from a toe injury that kept him out of four straight games.

Strus made four triples and had 20 points, seven rebounds and seven assists in a game the Cavs never trailed.

Bennedict Mathurin led the hosts with 23 points. Pascal Siakam had 18 and Tyrese Haliburton finished with four points and five assists — his first career home loss in a post-season game he’s appeared.

“This was a very poor effort at the beginning of the game, through so many parts of the game,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said.

“Clearly, I didn’t have these guys ready for this. Ty had a rough game. I have to do more to get him in better positions to have better shots.”

Tempers flared at times with the Pacers drawing five technical fouls. On the court, though, Cleveland controlled the game after breaking a 36-36 tie with a 25-4 run, which gave them a 66-45 halftime cushion.

Indiana closed to 104-93 early in the fourth before Mitchell and Strus led the game-sealing scoring flurry.

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