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Donovan Mitchell reflected on a key playoff victory after the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Toronto Raptors 125-120 in Game 5 of their first-round series at Rocket Arena. Cleveland now leads the series 3-2, with Game 6 scheduled in Toronto on Friday night.
Mitchell finished with 19 points as Cleveland overcame a 74-67 halftime deficit and a 103-100 third-quarter hole. He described the performance as steady rather than perfect, emphasizing the team approach throughout the night.
“Pull this one out tonight. Just a collective effort,” Mitchell said. “Our first half wasn’t perfect, wasn’t pretty. But understanding we’ve been here before. Staying with it, stay collected.”
He pointed to the mental challenge of the game as Toronto responded repeatedly. “You knew with this team, they were going to come out and have a little fire to them,” Mitchell said. “There were so many times where you could just allow it to affect you. But just continuing to stay as a collective.”
Mitchell highlighted the turning point mindset entering the third quarter after Cleveland’s uneven start. “It’s easy to get down what we got down 12, 14. The boos, the fans feeling like, you know, it’s easy to allow that to affect you,” he said. “But we’ve been here. This is definitely a step in the right direction.”
The Cavaliers guard also credited Dennis Schroder’s fourth-quarter impact after the bench guard scored 19 points, including 11 in the final period. Mitchell described Schröder’s leadership during key moments.
“He spoke at length probably for about 2 or 3 minutes at halftime just about what he saw and what we could have done better,” Mitchell said. “And then in the fourth, just being everywhere. We look at the 19 points, but his defensive presence, just being around, causing havoc.”
Mitchell also explained Cleveland’s decision to stay with Schroder during his hot stretch late in the game. “Hell no,” he said when asked about subbing out the guard. “When you got a guy, it’s about the group. You ride the hot hand. You don’t mess it up.”
He pointed to Cleveland’s fourth-quarter defensive surge that flipped the game. “We got stops. Just making it tough,” Mitchell said. “We just kind of rallied around that. Even when shots didn’t fall for us, we were still finding ways to get back and communicate.”
Mitchell also emphasized Evan Mobley’s two critical three-pointers and overall impact. “Big time,” he said. “Him and Jarrett. That was huge. He stepped up and now we got to do it again.”
Looking ahead to Game 6, Mitchell kept the focus simple. “We got an opportunity to close the series on the road. It’s going to be a tough environment,” he said. “For me, just continue to take the shots, make the plays that need to be made, and do whatever it takes to win.”
