Donovan Mitchell’s historic scoring explosion fueled a dominant Game 4 surge, but the Cleveland Cavaliers' postseason dreams now hinge on overcoming their notorious road struggles.
Cavalanche (noun)
1 : a sudden overwhelming rush of Cavaliers' points
If you were unfamiliar with the term, it's available in shirt form, but there were also multiple examples of it during the Cavs 112-103 Game 4 win over the Detroit Pistons on Monday night, that evened things up at two games a piece in the two foes second-round showdown.
Trailing 56-52 at the half, something flipped to start the third quarter. A Cavalanche ensued. Cleveland opened the period on 22-0 run (24-0 dating back to the final bucket of the first half). No, that's not a typo. Detroit's first bucket of the stanza didn't come until the 5:57 mark of the quarter.
It was as dominant a stretch as the Cavs have played the entire postseason and became way too much for a noticeably gassed Pistons squad to overcome.
The run was fueled by star guard Donovan Mitchell, who produced his own individual Cavalanche after delivering the most forgettable first half of his Cavaliers tenure.
He scored his first point with 4:19 to go in the second quarter via the charity stripe. His first field goal didn't come until nearly two minutes later, a three-pointer that gave him a whopping four points at halftime. In total, he had shot 1-of-8 from the floor in the first half.
Over the final 24 minutes, though, Mitchell delivered a performance for the ages. 90 seconds into the third, he provided the first eight points of that aforementioned 22-0 run.
He went on to score 13 of those 22 points and a whopping 21 in the period. He wasn't done, firing, and darting his way to a ridiculous 39 points in the second half to tie a record for the most points scored in any half of a playoff game.
It was pure brilliance. One of those "where were you when" type of outings from the Cavs biggest star.
Through nine postseason games Mitchell hasn't looked better. Neither have the Cavaliers, who seem to have figured out their spacing issues Kenny Atkinson has harped on so much.
Mitchell and Harden, who opened the game with 11 points in the first quarter, appear to be striking the right balance between when one or the other has to shoulder the offensive load
Those around them found their footing in Games 3 and 4 in Cleveland as well. Evan Mobley dominated defensively on Monday night, to the beat of five blocks and three steals, while scoring 17 and grabbing eight boards.
Jarrett Allen continues finding his spots, like when he threw down an emphatic dunk in Jalen Duren's face to the sweet sound of the Cleveland crowd chanting his name.
Guys like Dennis Schröder, Sam Merrill and Max Strus are all making their presence felt off the bench as well.
Everything is clicking right now for the Cavaliers and yet, one major question remains unanswered. Can this immaculate brand of basketball travel to Detroit for Game 5?
During the Mitchell era in Cleveland, the Cavs are a meager 4-13 in playoff road games. If they have any hope of advancing beyond the second round for the first time in that same time frame, a fifth road win is required.
Monday's offensive explosion. Mitchell's brilliance. The trust Cleveland has seemingly earned back from fans. It all means nothing without a win on the road in this series.
Wednesday is an opportunity for the wine and gold to put their foot on Detroit's throat and seize this series for themselves. We'll find out if they're ready for it.
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