On Monday evening, the Cleveland Cavaliers picked up a much-needed road win over the Indiana Pacers to end their losing streak and get back in the win column. The Cavs were led by 43 points from Donovan Mitchell in this game, continuing his torrid pace on the 2025-26 season and helping Cleveland knock off the team that eliminated them in last year’s semifinal series.
After the game, it was revealed that his big scoring night was prophesied by none other than Cavs head coach Ken Atkinson.
“You’ve got to go for 40 tonight,’” Atkinson said, speaking on what he told Mitchell before the game, per Spencer Davies of ClutchPoints. “I’ve never said that to a player. ‘If you take 30 shots, I’m good with it. And if you take five or six bad ones, we’re good with it.’ I’ve never said that to him or any player, but he felt it, I felt it; we needed him tonight. Just had to get a W.”
“We’re asking a lot of him. Without him, how many wins do we have?” Atkinson added. “We have to ask ourselves that question. Everybody talks about the great players in this league; this guy is one of ’em. Top five, you could say whatever you want.”
While most pundits and fans would not have Mitchell in their top five, he’s still been hooping at an elite level for the Cavs all year, keeping the team above water even while Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley continue to perform well below expectations, and as Darius Garland goes in and out of the lineup due to injury.
In any case, next up for the Cavs is a home game against the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday evening. That contest is slated to begin at 7:00 pm ET.
