Donovan Mitchell was essential to the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Game 7 comeback to beat the Orlando Magic, and not just because of his on-court contributions.
Mitchell was seen giving a motivational message to teammate Darius Garland during the second half of Sunday’s Eastern Conference first round Game 7. Garland struggled in the first half and got into foul trouble, but Mitchell pulled him aside on the bench to give what appeared to be a passionate message.
Love seeing Donovan Mitchell pumping up Darius Garland, trying to keep him engaged pic.twitter.com/nzwsEV2fh0
— CJ Fogler 🫡 (@cjzero) May 5, 2024
Mitchell also put his money where his mouth was. In the fourth quarter, despite Garland’s misses, Mitchell fed him for a vital three that put Cleveland up by 11 with just under six minutes to go.
Really cool seeing D Mitch encouraging Garland when he’s having a bad game
Garland misses the first 3 and Mitchell trusts him to sink the second
What a cool sequence, that’s what sports is all about pic.twitter.com/Oqw0ASr1Dp
— MJAY (@mjaybrod) May 5, 2024
After the game, ESPN’s Lisa Salters asked Mitchell what his message for Garland had been. Mitchell’s NSFW response was pretty great.
“I said to him, excuse my language, I don’t give a s— what happens. It’s gonna happen,” Mitchell said.
The Cavaliers trailed by as much as 18 points in the first half, but Mitchell led them back with a 39-point showing. Garland went just 3-for-13 from the field and was limited to 30 minutes due to foul trouble, but he came up with that one big shot when it mattered. Mitchell’s belief in him certainly had to help, especially since Garland also made a big mistake late in Game 6.
