Donovan Mitchell discussed their journey after a career milestone, reaching his first-ever conference finals after leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 125-94 victory over Detroit Pistons in Game 7 of the East semifinals.
Last postseason, the Cavaliers were eliminated by the Indiana Pacers, but now Mitchell and his team are one step closer to the NBA finals.
“A breath of fresh air off the list, but this wasn’t the goal when we started the season. Even last year I said, when we lost to Indiana, we had our goals set on getting to the NBA Finals. And we’re just one step closer. But yeah, it’s been almost a decade of running into the same issue. So sure, I personally and as a team, we can breathe a little bit. But on the same token, we can only breathe for about 12 hours and then get right back to it. So it’s a balance, it’s a blessing.” Mitchell told reporters.
The Cavs superstar dropped 26 points, eight assists, and six rebounds with no turnovers and averaged 28.1 points, including massive efforts in Game 3 (35 points, 10 rebounds) and Game 4 (43 points, including 39 in the second half) that helped the Cavs claw back in the series after falling in a 2-0 hole.
Meanwhile, Cavs’ head coach Kenny Atkinson credited Mitchell for his efforts on both Sunday night and throughout the entire season:
“He kept this thing together this year when things weren’t going great. He was the beacon, the light. His leadership. He carried us on the court. When things weren’t going great, he was the person everyone looked to. We could’ve splintered,” Atkinson said
Mitchell and James Harden look forward to reaching the first NBA Finals of their career, while facing the New York Knicks, who also have not reached the championship stage since the 1998-99 season.
Both teams are hungry to obtain a milestone starting Tuesday night.
