Cavaliers' big 3 of Mitchell, Harden and Mobley come up big in Game 2 win over Raptors
CLEVELAND (AP) — After not playing together much in the regular season, the Cleveland Cavaliers' new big three came up big in their first major playoff test. Donovan Mitchell continued his postseason scoring prowess, and James Harden and Evan Mobley made big plays on both ends of the floor as the Cavaliers beat the Toronto Raptors 115-105 on Monday night for a 2-0 lead in their Eastern Conference first-round series. “This was a superstar game.
Those three led us,” Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said. “They hit the big shots. I think James had four steals in the second half, so excellent defensive.
Evan really good defensively and Don just made some out-of-this-world, incredible shots. That's why they're stars. ” Mitchell scored 30 points, including four 3-pointers, and had seven rebounds, five assists and a steal in 37 minutes.
Harden added 28 points, but his biggest impact might have been on defense with five steals. Mobley had a team-high eight rebounds and scored 25 points on 11-of-13 shooting. It was the fourth time in franchise history the Cavaliers have had at least three players score 25 points in a playoff game.
But Mitchell said it was Harden's constant attention on defense that made the difference Monday night. Cleveland forced Toronto into season-high 22 turnovers that led to 22 Cavaliers points. “I think the biggest thing with him is he’s obviously an-all world offensive talent, but the one thing that jumps out to you as soon as he gets here is the communication about defense,” Mitchell said.