But after losing the first two games of their second-round series at home to the Indiana Pacers, they seemed to be teetering on the brink of a total disaster. They headed to Indianapolis for Game 3 on Friday badly needing a win,

Behind Mitchell’s 43 points and a gutsy all-around performance from Strus, the Cavs throttled the Pacers 126-104 in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The victory trimmed the Pacers’ series lead to 2-1 and delivered Cleveland its first win of the second round emphatically.

Mitchell was nowhere to be found on Cleveland’s star-studded injury report for Game 2, but the TNT broadcast reported he was playing hurt.