The Cavaliers are on the brink of elimination, as the Pacers have taken a commanding 3-1 lead over Cleveland so far in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Therefore, Cleveland needs to win on Tuesday night, but the status of their best player is up in the air. Donovan Mitchell suffered a left ankle injury that forced him to miss the second half of Indiana's blowout Game 4 victory.
While the Cavaliers' chances of winning Game 4 were low when Mitchell was held out of the game, Cleveland needs the star point guard in Game 5 to try and extend the series. If Mitchell can't go, Cleveland will have to rely more on Darius Garland and Ty Jerome to replace Mitchell's production in a must-win game.
Here's the latest on Mitchell's injury ahead of Game 5.
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Is Donovan Mitchell playing tonight?
Mitchell will play and start in Tuesday's game, the team announced ahead of tip off.
S5. #LetEmKnow pic.twitter.com/JytA5Mz4uJ
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) May 13, 2025
On Monday, Kenny Atkinson declared Mitchell to be a "game-time decision" as the point guard recovered from his left ankle injury. Then, Tuesday morning, Mitchell participated in shootaround for Cleveland, a good sign that he might try to give it a go in Game 5.
Some more work from Donovan Mitchell at shootaround today. He's a "gametime decision" with the ankle injury. #Cavs pic.twitter.com/QPbgemZyJB
— Camryn Justice (@camijustice) May 13, 2025
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Donovan Mitchell playoff stats
Here's a look at how Mitchell has performed in the playoffs so far:
- Games: 8
- PPG: 28.9
- RPG: 4.1
- APG: 4.3
- SPG: 1.6
- FG%: 46.2%
- 3P%: 33.8%
- FT%: 75.0%
While Mitchell scored just 12 points in one half of play during Game 4, the point guard did score 48 and 43 points, respectively, in Games 2 and 3.