CLEVELAND — Despite having a stronger supporting cast this postseason, Donovan Mitchell continues his tradition of making bold statements in playoff series openers.
The Cleveland Cavaliers All-Star guard maintained his remarkable consistency Saturday, scoring 32 points to lead his team to a 126-113 win against the Toronto Raptors in their Eastern Conference first-round playoff opener.
Mitchell’s performance marks an unprecedented ninth consecutive playoff series opener where he has reached the 30-point threshold, establishing a new NBA record.
“It’s not something like I’m searching for,” Mitchell explained regarding his pursuit of 30 points to begin each series. “It’s just something that I’m playing my game. Just trying to set a tone of aggression by getting downhill, taking the open shots, taking what’s given to me and obviously making the defense have to react.”
This historic run started during Mitchell’s time with Utah in the 2020 playoffs at Walt Disney World in Florida amid the COVID-19 pandemic, when he exploded for 57 points against Denver. That performance still stands as a Jazz playoff record and ranks as the third-highest individual scoring effort in NBA postseason history.
Throughout this nine-game stretch, Mitchell holds a 5-4 record in series openers, including a 3-3 mark since joining Cleveland following his September 2022 trade from Utah.
While recently-acquired James Harden helped stabilize Cleveland during a tight first half, it was Mitchell alongside Max Strus who delivered the decisive blows in the second half against Toronto.
At halftime, Harden led the scoring with 15 points compared to Mitchell’s 13, as Cleveland held a 61-54 advantage. The third quarter belonged to Mitchell, who added 11 points, and Strus, who contributed eight, as the Cavaliers built a commanding 21-point lead entering the final period.
“That’s his job. That’s what he gets paid the big bucks for being aggressive, taking shots and doing his thing. We understand that, so our job is to just go out there and fulfill the roles and do other things to impact the game,” Harden commented. “I think for me, it’s trying to get more assists and trying to get into the paint. We’ve got shooting, we’ve got bigs who are versatile and athletic. My job is to get them the ball.”
Harden concluded the game with 22 points and 10 assists that generated 23 points for teammates. Six of those assists found center Jarrett Allen and forward Evan Mobley.
Mitchell reached his 30-point milestone on a driving layup with 9:28 left on the clock, pushing Cleveland’s advantage to 106-84. The nine-year veteran connected on 7 of 13 attempts from inside the paint, an approach that impressed head coach Kenny Atkinson.
“I said that before the game, how we’ve changed our mindset where we’ve become more rim- and paint-oriented. Don, he can try to do those pirouette 3s, but I think he was locked in on getting to the rim and made some really good decisions,” Atkinson noted.
Mitchell’s 33.1 points per game average in series openers ranks second in NBA history among players who have participated in at least 10 postseason series. His overall playoff scoring average of 28.4 points ties with LeBron James for sixth-best among players with a minimum of 50 playoff games.
“I thought we handled the environment and the crowd pretty well. They had a lot of guys scoring at a high rate and they got a lot of easy shots, getting to the rim and dunks,” said Toronto’s Scottie Barnes, who finished with 21 points.
