Louisville basketball's Donovan Mitchell ties NBA playoff record

Donovan Mitchell scored 39 points in the second half to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 112-103 victory over the Detroit Pistons in Game 4 on Monday night to even the NBA second-round playoff series at 2-2. The former Louisville Cardinal contributed 43 total points, with his second-half explosion tying a playoff record for the most points scored in a half, which was set by Golden State Warriors guard Eric "Sleepy" Floyd in 1987. Mitchell had the opportunity to break the record when shooting a pair of free throws with 27.

3 seconds left, but missed the second of the two. The Cleveland guard started his record-setting night just 1-for-8 from the field and did not score until the 2:48 mark of the second quarter. This was Mitchell's fourth 40-point playoff performance with the Cavaliers, giving him the second-most in franchise history behind LeBron James, passing Kyrie Irving.

Mitchell played for Louisville from 2015-17. He was then drafted with the 13th pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, going to the Utah Jazz in a draft-day trade with the Denver Nuggets. He was traded to Cleveland in 2022.

Since entering the league, Mitchell has been a seven-time NBA All-Star, a member of the All-NBA first team in 2025, the 2018 Slam Dunk Contest champion and a member of the NBA All-Rookie Team in 2018. This season, he averaged 27. 9 points, 5.