“Die Out There”: Donovan Mitchell in Disbelief as Visuals Confirm Mental Toll After Cavs’ Playoffs Exit

Donovan Mitchell’s heart-wrenching reaction to the Cavaliers’ playoff exit summed up the emotional toll of one of the most painful losses of his career. After a 35-point performance in Game 5, Mitchell returned to sit silently on the bench nearly an hour after the final buzzer, staring at the court that saw Cleveland’s 64-win season collapse in a 4–1 series loss to Indiana.

“I just couldn’t believe it… don’t want to believe it,” Mitchell said. “This place is special, and we didn’t get it done.”

Still battling an ankle injury, Mitchell was visibly crushed, even admitting he felt he needed to “damn near die out there” to win. Despite another year falling short of the conference finals, he vowed to come back stronger, saying, “We let the city down… but we’ll be back.”

It was a brutal reminder: regular-season success means little without playoff grit.

(This is a building story…)

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