Donovan Mitchell gave it everything he had in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ second-round series against the Indiana Pacers, but an unfortunate sequence late in the decisive Game 5 may haunt him for a while.
Mitchell, gutting through an ankle injury that he suffered in Game 4 of the series, was able to play in Tuesday’s Game 5 at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. He managed to pour in a game-high 35 points but did so on just 8/25 shooting from the field. Mitchell also cost the Cavaliers with a brutal moment at the free throw line late during the fourth quarter.
The six-time All-Star Mitchell was fouled on a three-point attempt by Pacers forward Aaron Nesmith with 1:49 remaining in the game and Cleveland trailing Indiana 106-100. Mitchell, an 84.0 percent career three-point shooter, proceeded to somehow miss all three free throws though, effectively sealing his team’s fate.
Donovan Mitchell gets 3 free throws late in the 4th quarter, with the possibility to cut the Pacers lead down to 3 and he misses them all. pic.twitter.com/pO9qBx6WDa
— MrBuckBuck (@MrBuckBuckNBA) May 14, 2025
Mitchell did hit a corner three-pointer on the next offensive possession to slightly redeem himself. But the Cavaliers were never able to get any closer from there and lost the game 114-105. That gave the Pacers the 4-1 series victory and knocked the 64-win No. 1 seed Cavaliers out of the playoffs in shocking fashion.
Social media was not kind to Mitchell over the clutch misses from the free throw line. He was the subject of plenty of ruthless memes on X.
Donovan Mitchell at the free throw line with the game on the line pic.twitter.com/SofvtgDo9f
— Hater Report (@HaterReport_) May 14, 2025
Donovan Mitchell at the free throw line pic.twitter.com/zuMentJD60
— Reed (Richards) Jones (@reedmalcolmj) May 14, 2025
Donovan Mitchell at the free throw line pic.twitter.com/X5J0FpJehx
— Hard Rock Bet (@HardRockBet) May 14, 2025
Donovan Mitchell at the line shooting 3 free throws: pic.twitter.com/kpHBSTLpHu
— Bodog (@BodogCA) May 14, 2025
Donovan Mitchell shooting free throws with the season on the line pic.twitter.com/Ss62zpjrw1
— (@PacersStatsMuse) May 14, 2025
The roast session was probably a little bit unfair to Mitchell, who carried the Cavaliers with 30 or more points in four of the five games. But that terrible sequence at the line continued on a trend of Cleveland players struggling with free throws in big clutch moments.
