Donovan Mitchell locks in, helps lift Cavs to win with 35 points, 10 rebounds

CLEVELAND — Donovan Mitchell may have been all business, but he still managed to enjoy himself. Cleveland's star guard fed off the energy of his home crowd while putting together a signature game with 35 points and 10 rebounds. His effort sparked the Cavs to a 116-109 victory over the top-seeded Detroit Pistons in a crucial Game 3 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series Saturday afternoon. The Pistons won the first two games in Detroit. The teams will resume their series at Rocket Arena on Monday at 8 p.m. with the Cavs looking to even things up before returning to Motown. "Especially today I was just trying to be as locked in as possible," Mitchell said. "Not as many smiles just because you don't want to go down 3-0. It's always great to have the home crowd on your side. I always talk about protecting home court. They're a huge reason why. Come back here, I feel like in Cleveland they're just so hungry for a win. You feel that energy. It's one game, it's 2-1 so we still have to take care of home court. But to play in front of these fans is an honor and privilege. You feel the energy and the buzz in the city." The Cavs had what was by far their best first quarter of the series at 32 points with Mitchell accounting for nine to go along with three rebounds. Cleveland had scored a combined 39 points in the opening quarters of the first two games. Mitchell was consistent throughout the game, scoring 11 in the second quarter, six in the third and nine in the fourth. He finished 13-of-24 from the field, 2-of-8 from 3-point range and 7-of-8 from the free throw line. He had four assists to three turnovers and Cleveland won the turnover battle, 16-15, for the first time this series. Forward Evan Mobley and center Jarrett Allen were a big reason why Mitchell had 10 rebounds, though it might not seem like it from the box score. Cleveland's big men combined for eight and four rebounds, respectively, but created opportunities for the Cavs perimeter players to clean up the glass thanks to their efforts boxing out Detroit's aggressive front court. "I said this the other night when everybody looked at Evan's one rebound, but they don't understand why he had one rebound," Mitchell said. "He was in there boxing everyone out, so then it's on us as guards to come in there and get that. They were trying to keep those guys off the boards. That for me was the biggest adjustment because once we get the rebound we can push in transition. I tried to help my guys out because they're sacrificing their bodies, they're pushing their bodies and trying to get in there." Even though Mitchell got the Cavs to the door, it was James Harden who propelled Cleveland through to its first win in the series, scoring seven straight points in the final 1:30 to end the Pistons' comeback attempt. Mitchell credits the shift to an adjustment Detroit made when it elected to switch Ausar Thompson onto him, allowing Harden more room to operate. Harden finished with 19 points. "We're extremely comfortable," Mitchell said. "Look at tonight in the fourth quarter. They put Thompson on me and now he's able to impact the game. Being able to have that communication, we have three months of work, and also using that IQ that we both have. We're very comfortable, but it's a work in progress each night and each game. Win or loss, it continues to help it." Contact Chris Sweeney at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Follow him @CSweeney1686 on X.