Mitchell’s 43 Leads Cavaliers to First Win of Series; Nuggets Take 2-1 Lead

Donovan Mitchell scored 43 points on Friday night in Indianapolis as the Cleveland Cavaliers made their best-of-7 series with the Indiana Pacers 2-1 with a 126-104 Game 3 victory. Mitchell’s 43 points followed up his 48 points in Game 2. For the series, he is averaging 41.3 points on 47.2% shooting. 

In Denver, the Nuggets held the Oklahoma City Thunder to two overtime points on their way to a 113-104 win.

On Friday, Mitchell shot 14-for-29 from the field, 5-for-13 from downtown, and 10-for-14 from the free-throw line. He also had 9 rebounds, 5 assists, and 1 steal. 

Darius Garland, De’Andre Hunter and Evan Mobley returned from injuries, with Mobley performing the best out of the trio in Game 3 with 18 points, 13 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, and 3 blocks on 6-for-13 in 35 minutes. Garland was 3-for-11 for 10 points in 25 minutes, and Hunter off the bench scored 8 points on 2-for-6 shooting in 21 minutes. 

Max Strus was 8-for-12 (4-for-8 from downtown) for 20 points, 7 assists, and 7 rebounds, and Jarrett Allen was 6-for-11 from the field for 19 points, 12 rebounds, and 2 blocks. The Cavaliers shot 42.0% from the field, made 14-of-47 triples, and made 28 of their 37 free-throw attempts. 

Pascal Siakam’s 18 points on 8-for-14 led the Pacers, while Myles Turner as 4-for-7 for 15 points and 3 blocks and Andrew Nembhard 4-for-9 for 10 points. Bennedict Mathurin led the team in scoring with 23 points (6-for-11, 8-for-9 from the line) in 27 minutes off the bench. T.J. McConnell added 12. 

The Pacers shot 43.8% but only made nine of their 30 3-point attempts and shot 25-for-34 from the line. They were significantly outrebounded, 56-37, a big factor in the loss. 

Game 4 is Sunday at 8:00 p.m. 

In Denver in Game 3, the home Nuggets prevailed by nine in overtime, outscoring the Oklahoma City Thunder 11-2 in the extra frame. 

Nikola Jokic finished with 20 points, 16 rebounds, and 6 assists, but needed a flashlight to find the rim, converting just 8-of-25 field goals and missing all 10 of his attempts from 3-point range. Jamal Murray (27 points, 8 assists, 4 rebounds, 9-for-19, 7-for-8 from the line) helped fill in the scoring gaps, as did Aaron Gordon with his 22 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists (7-for-11 from the field, 4-for-6 from downtown). Michael Porter Jr. had his best game yet of the series, with 21 points and 8 rebounds on 5-for-6 from 3-point range. 

For the Thunder, Chet Holmgren stepped up in a major way as did Jalen Williams, but Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s off night (7-for-22, 1-for-6 from deep, 18 points) opened the door for the Nuggets with all of their contributions. 

Williams was spectacular with 32 points (5 assists, 11-for-21, 3-for-7 from downtown) and hit a clutch shot, a 3-pointer with 1:50 remaining, to give the Thunder a 100-99 lead. Two of Gilgeous-Alexander’s many misses came at a crucial juncture, misfiring on two shots in the final 30 seconds. Down the stretch and into overtime, the offense inexplicably went away from Williams and turned into too much isolation ball, particularly for Alexander, who did not score in overtime. The Nuggets capitalized on the misses, hitting open triples and a key sequence where Williams missed, and was stripped on a drive, with Murray finishing a flashy layup at the other end. The Nuggets outscored the Thunder 11-2 in overtime. 

Isaiah Hartenstein’s patented push shot could not find the bottom of the net in the fourth quarter or overtime, and he finished only 5-of-14 from the field (10 points, 10 rebounds). 

Chet Holmgren shot 7-of-19 and was 1-of-6 from downtown. To his credit, Holmgren played a strong interior game, blocking shots (3) and rebounding (16) while finishing dunks and alley-oops.

If Jokic needed a flashlight to find the rim, the Thunder needed a magnifying glass. As a group, they shot just 38.5% to Denver’s 45.9% and made 9-of-35 trifectas in contrast to the Nuggets going 16-of-40. Oklahoma City was outrebounded 54-49. 

Game 4 goes Sunday at 3:30 p.m. on ABC.