How Donovan Mitchell's trust in his teammates was rewarded during historic Game 7 comeback victory

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CLEVELAND, Ohio — Isaac Okoro pulled down an offensive rebound and took one dribble before passing to teammate Donovan Mitchell. The star of the game, Mitchell attacked Orlando's interior as Darius Garland shuffled toward the corner, the same corner where he had just a missed a wide-open 3-pointer that would've given the Cavs a comfortable double-digit lead around the midway point of the fourth quarter.

With a trio of Magic defenders converging on Mitchell near the rim, he trampolined off the court, hung in the air and had an opening to spin in one of his patented acrobatic layups, the same variety that helped ignite his 50-point eruption in Game 6.

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Only Mitchell didn't whirl the ball of the glass this time. He snapped it to Garland.

Swish.

The sellout crowd rumbled. Garland bounced and held his follow-through before an animated fist-pump that expelled nearly four quarters of rage and frustration. Orlando called timeout.

As players started to walk the other way, Mitchell turned and waited. He knew what that moment meant. For Garland. For the Cavs. For the next round. For the future. He wanted to share it with him.

It's why Mitchell, who scored the team's final 22 points in the Game 6 loss the other night, bypassed a layup attempt he easily could've made. He admitted to cleveland.com and another outlet that the decision was purposeful. There's always a bigger picture in play. A basketball savant who prides himself on an unquantifiable ability to empower and uplift teammates, Mitchell knew how much Garland needed that moment. How much the franchise needed Garland to have that moment.

It wasn't just worth three points. It wasn't the typical timeout-inducing bucket.

Mitchell understands Garland's importance — both in the short and long term. Mitchell has been trying to mentor the youngster, pulling Garland along with him, instilling confidence at every step. If the Cavs are going to make a deep postseason run and continue to evolve, Mitchell can't do it all by himself — something he spoke about at the start of the playoffs, a reality that became more evident Friday night in Orlando, when his third career 50-point playoff masterpiece wasn't enough.

Every superhero needs a sidekick.

"When he hit that 3, I knew he's back," Mitchell said when asked about Garland following the gutsy 106-94 come-from-behind win in which they erased an 18-point deficit. "Sometimes you just need that — a second opportunity. That's huge. That's who he needs to be. I always tell him — he was in foul trouble and things like that — but keep shooting the ball, keep being aggressive. I don't care if you turn the ball over, I don't care if the crowd boos, I don't care. We don't care. Just continue to be you. I'm glad he was able to do that tonight."

Having to answer critics after two straight haunting playoff failures, Mitchell dazzled. Again.

He tallied 17 of his game-high 39 points during a season-saving third quarter in which he outscored the Magic all by himself, 17-15, and allowed the Cavs to overcome an ugly, embarrassing and boo-filled start to take an eight-point lead into the fourth. Over the final two games of this ultra-competitive best-of-seven series, Mitchell totaled 89 points — the second-best mark in Games 6 and 7 in NBA history, behind Hall-of-Famer Allen Iverson.

On Sunday afternoon, Mitchell was equal parts leader, scoring dynamo, silencer and therapist.

When the Cavs needed a big play, Mitchell delivered. When the Cavs needed a bucket, Mitchell put his head down and burrowed into the paint. When coach J.B. Bickerstaff needed to relay strategy, Mitchell was a sounding board. When a teammate needed support, advice, knowledge or encouragement, Mitchell was there — just like the private moment between Mitchell and Garland near the midway point of the third quarter, after the disheartened youngster had just missed a driving layup and returned to the bench miffed. Mitchell sat down next to Garland, put his arm around him and tried to inspire before veteran Max Strus did the same.

"I told him, 'I don't give a damn what happened the past quarter and a half, the missed layup, whatever, I don't care. Trust your work. Trust what you've done. Trust who you are,'" Mitchell relayed when asked about that interaction. "In a Game 7, I experienced this when we played Denver, it becomes a lot. I'm not saying that was the case for him, I'm not going to speak for him. But I understand what he was feeling. It's like, 'Damn, I can't get anything right.' So, for me, it's just like trust it. We trust you, so believe in yourself. There's been moments where he's done the same to me, we have that relationship."

Prior to Mitchell's pep-talk, Garland looked like an out-of-place neophyte on the Game 7 stage. He had more fouls than points. Was a game-worst minus-11. An essential non-factor. Shades of his infamous fourth quarter two days earlier, which included a blunderous — and juvenile — eight-second violation in crunch time. Garland's ineffectiveness led to Bickerstaff leaning on sixth man Caris LeVert for almost the duration of the third quarter.

But in the fourth, Garland got his shot at retribution. He came through, providing Mitchell the kind of support he needed but didn't get Friday night.

The 24-year-old Garland (almost) went the distance. He was the team's leading scorer in the final 12 minutes, tallying 10 points on 2 of 4 shooting, 1 of 2 from 3-point range and 5 of 6 from the free-throw line to go with three assists against zero turnovers.

"It means a lot, just having a guy like that on my side," Garland said of Mitchell. "We've been at it for two years and we've been trying to get past this first round, so he knew that we all wanted it at the same time and together. He knew that I was a little bit down in the first half, especially with the foul trouble, but he kept trusting me, especially that corner trey ball. He trusts me on that one. It's cool just having him in my ear, telling me to keep going, stay confident in myself and that the entire team and the entire organization believes in me.

"I really needed it."

Given the magnitude and the stakes, Sunday's epic win will go down in franchise lore. It has already entered the league's history books — the largest Game 7 comeback victory since 1997-98.

But the most consequential aspect for the Cavs: It wasn't a solo act.

The supporting cast that's been labeled inadequate and inferior, not talented enough to keep Mitchell from eventually bolting Cleveland for a better situation, provided enough help.

"When we're together, we can do anything," Bickerstaff said. "We've got enough talent in that room that when we compete at our highest level, as a unit, we can make special things happen. That was the tell of it. Everybody who played gave us something. There was just a bunch of different guys that made plays that gave us hope, and we've got the ultimate belief in that group in there that they can overcome a ton."

With the offense discombobulated for the first 10 minutes, mustering just 12 points and missing 13 of its first 17 shots, Bickerstaff turned to little-used sharpshooter Sam Merrill, who contributed eight points off the bench, making Cleveland's only two triples in an otherwise disastrous opening half.

"Sam's great for our team, one of the best shooters I've ever been around," Strus said. "To be able to have that on your bench and have that spark at any moment you need it, he's going to be big for us to continue this playoff run. That's the playoffs. Guys got to step up and guys make plays. We all got to do it together to win and advance."

Strus was one of Cleveland's prized offseason pickups. He was targeted for his tenacity, toughness, shooting, spacing and postseason experience. All of that was on display in the turnaround third quarter, rebounding from a scoreless start and pouring in 11 points on 4 of 5 shooting and 3 of 3 from beyond the arc to loosen the defense and complement Mitchell.

"We could have split and went opposite ways and really put our head down and just taken an L. But guys stayed with it, kept fighting," Strus said. "We love each other. We love playing, and we want to keep going. We knew that the first round was not just a success for us. That would've been a failure. We've advanced and we're going to have that same motto in the second round. Keep winning. Not take it lightly. Go out and get more. Be greedy."

There was also Isaac Okoro's stifling defense against Orlando All-Star Paolo Banchero, showing why Bickerstaff and teammates were pushing so hard for Okoro to be on one of the end-of-season All-Defensive teams. Banchero showed his promise. He finished with 38 points. But it came on an inefficient 10 of 28 from the field, including a four-point third quarter when the Cavs seized control.

"That's my role," Okoro said. "I know it's win or go home, so I was going to do anything it took to win this game."

Evan Mobley, who battled through a less-than-100-percent ankle and shifted to center for injured Jarrett Allen, corralled 16 rebounds, including five on the offensive end. Mobley also anchored the defense, swatting five shots for a second time in the series.

"A lot of responsibility," Mobley said of his mindset without Allen. "I was just trying to protect the paint as best we can and play his role."

LeVert, fighting through some knee soreness and on the heels of a second-half DNP in Game 6, was the first player to arrive at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse Sunday afternoon. That extra preparation paid off. Attacking the rim relentlessly, he finished with 15 points — six more than he had in the previous three games combined — to go with five rebounds and four assists in 30 impactful minutes. At various points in the game, Mitchell deferred to LeVert, signaling him to initiate the offense.

"He was huge," Bickerstaff said of LeVert. "We've got a belief in Caris. When you go back and think about last year's playoffs, Caris was one of our best players in that series. So, we know that no matter the moment, no matter the pressure, Caris has the ability to impact success and impact winning. He knew we needed it tonight, and he came off the bench and gave us a huge spark on both ends."