Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell didn’t play after halftime in Sunday’s blowout loss to the Pacers due to a left ankle injury. As Jamal Collier of ESPN writes, Mitchell was listed as doubtful to return, and with Cleveland facing a staggering 41-point deficit at the half, there was little urgency to get him back out there in the third or fourth quarter.
According to Collier, Mitchell felt discomfort in his left ankle when he came back out on the court to warm up ahead of the third quarter. The six-time All-Star stopped in the middle of a shot attempt and the Cavs’ training staff came on the court to check out the injury before he returned to the locker room.
Head coach Kenny Atkinson told reporters after the game that Mitchell will undergo an MRI on Monday to assess the severity of his left ankle issue (Twitter link via Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files).
It’s a bleak development for the Cavaliers, who entered Sunday’s game with a clean injury report and were looking to even the series at two games apiece before heading back to Cleveland for Game 5. Instead, the Pacers dominated the game from start to finish, ultimately winning by a score of 129-109 to take a 3-1 series lead.
The status of Mitchell, who was already playing through a calf issue, will be of paramount importance for Cleveland ahead of Tuesday’s Game 5. He had led the Cavaliers with an eye-popping 41.3 points per night through the first three games of the series. He was also contributing 6.3 rebounds, 6.0 assists, and 2.0 steals per contest and was a +29 in his 107 total minutes entering Sunday’s game.