Donovan Mitchell says he only got 2 or 3 hours of sleep before torching Magic for 30 points

The Cleveland Cavaliers haven’t been to the second round of the playoffs since the 2017-18 season. They are one step closer to reaching that stage after Donovan Mitchell’s heroics earned them a Game 1 win over the Orlando Magic in their first-round series on Saturday.

Mitchell scored 30 to lift Cleveland to a 97-83 victory. Fortunately, lack of sleep did not affect his performance. According to the five-time All-Star, he was only able to sleep two to three hours due to excitement on the eve of the series opener.

“I only got two or three hours of sleep last night because I was sitting there hyped,” Mitchell said after Saturday’s game. “Everything that happened tonight – seeing the towels, seeing the white, it’s just something you always dream about as a kid. I will never lose that again. This is exciting and I love it and it’s a wonderful thing. But in the same sense, this is just one game. Now we have to do it again and again.”

Entering the playoffs, many stories had taken over the Cavs’ run to No. 4 in the Eastern Conference, including Mitchell’s health heading into their battle against the Magic. He assured fans that he felt 100 percent physically and mentally ahead of the playoffs. Based on his performance on Saturday, “Spida” indeed appears to have shaken off the injuries that plagued him toward the end of the regular season.

What perhaps made Mitchell’s 30-point performance more impressive was that it came against one of the stingiest defenses in the league this season. The Magic allowed just 108.4 points per game during the regular season, fourth-lowest among all teams.

Orlando’s trademark defense was still on display in the series opener. After all, the Cavs couldn’t even reach the 100-point mark. However, they gave the Magic a taste of their own medicine, thanks in large part to Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley patrolling the paint. Allen pulled down 18 rebounds to help prevent second-chance points, while Mobley added 11 boards and blocked three shots.

Hopefully Cleveland can redeem itself after last year’s heartbreaking elimination at the hands of the New York Knicks. In that series, the Cavs won just one game and Mitchell averaged 23.2 points per game on a 43.3 percent shooting clip.

Good news for Cleveland is that 76 percent of teams that win Game 1 advance to the series. Only time will tell if Mitchell can lead the Cavs to the next round, where the Boston Celtics or Miami Heat will await.