Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley come alive, help Cavs clinch series

CLEVELAND — The Cavaliers needed two of their stars to wake up at halftime, and they did just that. Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley combined for the first nine points in the third quarter, and that got Cleveland rolling past Toronto in the second half for a 114-102 win in Game 7 of its opening round playoff series at Rocket Arena on Sunday evening. The Cavs will take on Detroit in a best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal beginning Tuesday with the Pistons hosting the first two games. "When you go through these things, it teaches you a lot about yourself individually," said Mitchell, who finished with 22 points on 9-for-20 shooting. "It teaches a lot about the people around you. You get in those moments, it really shows you who you are." Cleveland was largely lethargic in the first half, yet somehow mustered enough to force a tie at 49. There wasn't much to be encouraged about, though, as James Harden was the only Cavs player in double figures. Mitchell got off to a slow start, shooting 3-for-9 from the field and 1-for-6 from 3-point range. Mobley had just six points on three field goal attempts and pulled four rebounds. The two combined for 13 points. Meanwhile, Scottie Barnes and Jammal Shead continued to torment Cleveland, each hitting 14 points by halftime. "We were really struggling until then," Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said of the finish to the second quarter. "It's a big difference. I could hear (the chatter) going into that locker room, everyone becomes more enthusiastic and more attune to what we need to do better. There's an enthusiasm to what you're talking about at halftime." The third quarter was a different story. Mobley gave Cleveland its first lead, 51-49, just 18 seconds into the second half. He and Mitchell combined for all nine unanswered points to put the Cavs up 58-49 at 9:28. The pair combined for 13 points in the quarter, with Mitchell scoring nine. While Mobley largely took a backseat the rest of the way, that was because Jarrett Allen exploded for a double-double in the third quarter alone and Mitchell continued his scoring barrage with eight points in the first 6:08 of the fourth. Mitchell has scored at least 20 points on four occasions this postseason and came just shy of the mark in Game 5 with 19. Mobley added 13 points and seven rebounds while Harden finished with 18 points. Three others finished in double figures for the Cavs, highlighted by Allen's monster 22-point, 19-rebound effort. "(James) and I individually have had big nights," Atkinson said. "We've had 50-balls, we've had bad nights, but at the end of the day we haven't won. We're going to continue to be ourselves, but in the same focus this isn't just about me and (Harden). It's (Allen), it's everybody in that locker room understanding that we just need to do the little things to win." Contact Chris Sweeney at sports@medina-gazette.com. Follow him @CSweeney1686 on X.