When you pull off the biggest Game 7 rally of the play-by-play era …

THE LINEUP 🏀

What’s inside today’s edition? 

Cavs Advance: Cleveland rallied back from 18 points down to win Game 7

Spida Delivers: Donovan Mitchell powered the Cavs with 39 points and unwavering leadership

Rivalry Renewed: Knicks and Pacers set for first Playoff clash since 2013

Defensive Clinic: How the Wolves defense stifled the Nuggets in Game 1

First Look: Celtics and Cavs set for their ninth Playoff matchup

BUT FIRST … ⏰

Last night’s scores & what to watch today.

Tonight’s TNT doubleheader begins with the Knicks hosting the Pacers (7:30 ET). Then, it’s Game 2 of Nuggets-Wolves in Denver (10 ET) with the defending champs looking for a split after Minnesota took Game 1.

Before tonight’s games, the Kia Rookie of the Year will be announced (7 ET, TNT) with Chet Holmgren, Brandon Miller and Victor Wembanyama as the three finalists.

1. CAVS WIN GAME 7 WITH HISTORIC RALLY

Cavs Advance To East Semis: In a win-or-go-home Game 7, the Cavaliers were trailing 49-31 with 4:17 left in the 1st half as the visiting Magic were in complete control.

What happened over the final 28:17 of game time will go down in the history books.

• The Cavs outscored the Magic 75-45 the rest of the way, turning that 18-point deficit into a 106-94 win to advance to an East Semis matchup with Boston. | Recap
• It is the largest Game 7 comeback of the play-by-play era (since 1997-98)
• Defense & Donovan: The 3rd quarter was the turning point as the Cavs held the Magic to 15 points (4-of-24 FG) while Donovan Mitchell outscored them single-handedly (17 pts, 7-of-9 FG)

Mitchell finished with 39 points, nine rebounds and five assists, while Evan Mobley added 11 points, 16 rebounds (a Playoff career-high) and five blocks (matching his Playoff career-high set in Game 6).

• Caris LeVert added 15 points off the bench, Max Strus chipped in 13 points with three 3s, and Darius Garland scored 10 of his 12 points in the 4th quarter

The stars led the way for both teams as Mitchell outdueled Paolo Banchero, who finished with 38 points (24 in the 1st half) and a Playoff career-high 16 boards for the Magic.

• Banchero’s 38 points are the most by a player 21 or younger in a winner-take-all Playoff game
• He’s the only player in Magic history to post 35+ points and 15+ rebounds in a Game 7. Sunday was Orlando’s fourth-ever Game 7

Home Sweet Home: For the 23rd time in Playoff history – and the first time since Boston-Milwaukee in 2018 – the home team won all seven games in a series (excluding the 2020 Playoffs played at a neutral site).

• Home teams are now 112-37 in Game 7s overall, but just 4-6 in the last 10 instances

2. MITCHELL LEADS CAVS TO EAST SEMIS

Donovan Mitchell arrived at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Sunday, punched his time card and went to work.

• 🗣 Mitchell: “This is why I’m here, this is my job.”

Mitchell’s first season with the Cavs ended in a 4-1 loss to the Knicks in the First Round of the 2023 Playoffs. Playing with a determination not to see another early exit, Mitchell carried the Cavs over the last two games.

• 🗣 Mitchell: “We accomplished one goal and now we have to do it again. … When they traded for me it wasn’t just to win a First Round series.”

He followed up a 50-point effort in Game 6 with 39 points in Game 7. The 89 combined points are the second-most in Games 6 & 7 of a Playoff series ever – trailing only Allen Iverson’s 90 from the 2001 East Finals.

Mitchell’s 39 points on Sunday are the third-most in a Game 7 by a Cav in franchise history, trailing only a pair of 45-point games by LeBron.

Mitchell led the Cavs to their first Playoff series win without LeBron since 1993. Mitchell’s series highlights

He did much more than score 39 points. Mitchell’s leadership was on full display with a pair of key moments with backcourt partner Garland.

• Garland was battling an off shooting game (1-for-9) and foul trouble (four) through three quarters in the biggest game of his young career. During a timeout, Mitchell put his arm around Garland and kept encouraging him
• 🗣 Garland: “It’s cool just having him in my ear a little bit, just telling me to keep going, stay confident in myself. I really needed it.”
• Mitchell showed that confidence in Garland midway through the 4th. After Garland missed a wide-open corner 3, the Cavs secured the offensive rebound, got the ball to Mitchell, who kicked it to Garland in the same spot
• This time, Garland splashed the 3 to put Cleveland up 11, forced a Magic timeout and gave us this reaction:

More Work To Come: After guiding Cleveland to a Game 7 win at home over the league’s third-ranked defense, Mitchell now must lead the Cavs into Boston to face the league’s second-ranked defense.

3. KNICKS-PACERS RIVALRY RENEWS

Tonight in NYC, one of the NBA’s most storied Playoff rivalries begins a new chapter when the Knicks host the Pacers in Game 1 of the East Semis (7:30 ET, TNT).

This will be the eighth Playoff matchup between New York and Indiana, but the first in 11 years. The Pacers enter this series with a 4-3 edge all-time and the only wins of this century (2000 and 2013).

The names may be different now – with Jalen Brunson and Tyrese Haliburton in place of Patrick Ewing and Reggie Miller – but with so much history, this rivalry should rekindle quickly.

The 2024 edition features two teams built on hustle, grit and motor. But they show it in two different ways.

Indiana

• Highest-scoring team in 40 years (123.3 ppg)
• Third-highest assists average of all-time (30.8 apg)
• First in effective field goal percentage (57.8%)
• Plays at the second-fastest pace (102.16 poss per 48 min)

New York

• Allows the second-fewest points (108.2 ppg)
• Top rebounding team in the league (52.7%)
• Second in 2nd-chance points (16.3 ppg)
• Plays at the slowest pace (95.96)

Key Matchup: Brunson and Haliburton were both All-Stars for the East, but like their teams, got there in different ways.

• Brunson: After finishing 4th in scoring during the regular season (28.7 ppg), Brunson has increased his average to a league-leading 35.5 in the Playoffs.
• And that is still below the 35.7 he averaged in three games against Indy this season
• Haliburton: Led the NBA in assists (10.9 apg) with the highest average in three seasons while also averaging over 20 ppg.
• In three games against NY, Haliburton averaged 13.3 assists against 1.3 turnovers (a 10.0 assist-to-turnover ratio)

4. HOW MINNESOTA’S DEFENSE STIFLED DENVER

In the First Round of the Playoffs, a few Timberwolves plays started going viral. A lot of them came from Ant Edwards, of course. But this one – making the rounds on social for days – looked a little different.

The Wolves defense rotated perfectly as the Suns moved the ball around the perimeter, resulting in a steal, which led to Edwards’ viral dunk of the night on the other end.

The moment epitomized a Wolves team that, on Saturday, pulled off a feat that’d happened just once over the past two postseasons: beating the Nuggets at home.

• It was just the ninth time (regular season or Playoffs) that Denver was held below 100 points this season
• All nine of those games were losses
• Three came at the hands of the Timberwolves

How did Minnesota’s top-ranked defense stifle Denver’s top-5 offense?

1. On-Ball Defense: Watch Edwards and Jaden McDaniels stick with Jamal Murray, fighting over screens and not allowing separation.

The Wolves ranked in the 96th percentile defending both pick-and-roll ball handlers (allowing 40.5% FG) and isolations (allowing 38.4% FG).

• Edwards was in the 99.7 percentile in isolation defense – allowing just 10% shooting
• McDaniels was in the 84.7 percentile in pick-and-roll – holding ball handlers to 39.8% shooting

2. Rim Protection: The Wolves ranked second in the league in rim protection (60.7%), led by Rudy Gobert at 52% allowed.

As a team, the Wolves hold opponents 2.3% below their average shooting percentage – 4.2% below average within six feet of the basket.

• Gobert’s numbers are even better as he holds opponents 6.1% below average overall and 13.7% lower within six feet

3. Versatility: As teams constantly hunt mismatches in the Playoffs, having bigs that can stay with guards on the perimeter and guards that can help protect the basket is necessary.

• Gobert was able to stick with Michael Porter Jr. from the 3-point line into the paint before forcing a turnover
• Edwards switched onto Nikola Jokic in the post, and reacted in time to stop a MPJ drive with a block on the give-and-go

Can the Wolves replicate this defensive effort and take a 2-0 lead in Denver (10 ET, TNT)?

5. CELTICS-CAVS MEET AGAIN

In another matchup loaded with Playoff history, the Celtics and Cavs will tip off their series Tuesday in Boston (7 ET, TNT).

• This will be the ninth time these teams have met in the Playoffs
• Four players were on these teams when they last met in 2018 – Jayson Tatum (as a rookie), Jaylen Brown and Al Horford for Boston and Tristan Thompson for Cleveland
• The teams are tied 4-4 in their previous eight series, although Cleveland won the last three (2015, 2017, 2018)

Boston won this year’s season series 2-1, although Cleveland has the most recent win (March 5). All three games were decided by single digits and won by the home team.

• Clutch Time: Boston went 21-12 in games featuring clutch minutes, while Cleveland went 20-22
• Home Cooking: Unlike the First Round, where Cleveland won all of its home games to advance in seven games, they must win at Boston in this series to advance
• Only five teams have won in Boston this year: the Lakers, Clippers, Nuggets, Knicks and Heat (in the Playoffs)

Both teams are dealing with injuries to a starting big man – Kristaps Porzingis (calf) for Boston and Jarrett Allen (ribs) for Cleveland.

• KP averaged 21 ppg and 8.3 rpg against Cleveland this season
• Allen averaged 14.3 ppg and 9 rpg against Boston