Donovan Mitchell not ‘dwelling,’ ready for Game 7 despite struggles

May 15, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) drives to the basket against Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren (0) during the first quarter in game six of the second round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

The Detroit Pistons forced staved off elimination by the Cleveland Cavaliers and forced a Game 7 on Saturday night with a 115-94 win in Northeast Ohio on Friday night. Cavs star Donavan Mitchell had his worst performance of the series thus far, shooting just 6-for-20, but he’s not dwelling on it.

” I can’t dwell on it. You know what I mean?” Donovan asked reporters in his postgame presser. “The shots tonight, do I think some of them were tougher shots?

“I’m very sure I can say that about every game. Right? So I’m not here to look at the fact that I’m going to shoot shots. It’s just the overall force and impact of the game tonight. I missed shots, and making them most every game in the series, and tonight I didn’t. So I’m not worried about that. It’s more so everything else, and we missed an opportunity, but we can’t do anything about it.”

Faced with his second Game 7 of the playoffs, Mitchell is embracing the challenge of having to get things done the hard way.

“Everything you want is on the other side of hard. Nothing good comes easy. You know what I mean? That’s kind of how you have to look at it. We can sit here and dwell on this and carry that into Sunday. What’s that going to do for us? Right? So understand you have an opportunity. You missed it. We get an opportunity on Sunday, and that’s the mindset.”

Game 7 will be on Sunday night in Detroit, and for Mitchell’s part, he knows what the team needs to do to advance in the winner-take-all contest.

“It’s going to take every little bit of energy and effort. We may make shots, we may miss shots. We got to stay collected, stay together.”