NBA playoffs: Donovan Mitchell scores 48, but has rough time in final minutes of Cavaliers' collapse

We can start by making something very clear. The Cleveland Cavaliers wouldn't have had much of a chance in Game 2 without Donovan Mitchell.

With key contributors Evan Mobley, Darius Garland and De'Andre Hunter all out Tuesday, it was left to Mitchell to pick up much of the slack. He did so capably, dropping 48 points on 15-of-30 shooting with nine assists, five rebounds, four steals and five turnovers in 36 minutes. He absorbed enough punishment to reach the free throw line for 21 attempts.

He also delivered the Cavaliers' highlight of the playoffs so far.

With all of that said, it also can't be ignored how much of a role Mitchell had in Cleveland's epic collapse, blowing a seven-point lead with a minute left to fall behind 2-0 in the Eastern Conference semifinals series.

Mitchell was clearly gassed going into the final stretch, as everything started to go wrong for the Cavaliers. In the last three minutes, he had two shots blocked, missed two free throws, committed a costly offensive foul and was taken out for a Pacers offensive possession. That offensive foul could have easily turned into a flagrant as well.

That stretch also included Aaron Nesmith getting a step on him during a Pascal Siakam free throw (with the the officials showing their usual laissez-faire attitude toward lane violations) and dunking hard enough to leave him with an injury.

Mitchell was also on the floor for the Cavaliers' disastrous final possession, in which Tyrese Haliburton got fouled, split the two free throws, rebounded the miss and made the game-winning 3-pointer.

Even in that, Mitchell missed out on a rebound that would have effectively iced the game.

And that's how you can walk out of a 48-point playoff game with a bitter taste in your mouth. No one ever said the NBA playoffs were fair.

The Cavaliers now have three minutes for their injured players to get healthy, and for Mitchell to get some rest.