Donovan Mitchell led the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 121-112 victory over the Miami Heat in Game 2 of the teams’ Eastern Conference first round playoff series on Wednesday night, scoring a game-high 30 points.
In doing so, “Spida” joined Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James in a very exclusive club, as noted by ClutchPoints on Bluesky.
“Cavs players to score 30+ points in Games 1 & 2 of a playoff series in franchise history:
⚔️ LeBron James (6 series)
⚔️ Donovan Mitchell (2025)”
Mitchell’s effort in Game 2 gave Cleveland a 2-0 series lead as the best-of-seven set shifts to Miami.
The six-time All-Star’s 30 piece on Wednesday came on the heels of his 30-point showing in the team’s 121-100 win in Game 1 on Sunday. Mitchell finished the series-opening triumph with five rebounds, four assists and four steals and shot 11-for-19 from the field, but just 2-for-9 on three-pointers.
While his overall shooting numbers were slightly down on Wednesday, he was much more efficient from beyond the arc, and was a stat-stuffer across the board again. Mitchell also came up big when it mattered the most, scoring 17 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter when the Heat had cut a 17-point halftime deficit to single digits.
Mitchell Steps up in Fourth Quarter to Help Cavaliers Hold off Heat
The 28-year-old went 10-for-21 from the field in Game 2, but 7-for-10 on three-pointers, while adding six rebounds and six assists.
Mitchell spent the first five seasons of his career with the Utah Jazz, scoring at least 30 points in 19 of his 39 playoff contests with the team and reaching the milestone in Games 1 and 2 of a series on three occasions. Mitchell was then traded to the Cavaliers in September 2022 and has played 17 postseason contests with the organization.
He now has eight playoff games of 30-plus points with Cleveland, and while he’s reached the landmark in all four of his Game 1s with the squad, he’d previously scored a high of 29 in Game 2s.
James’ History of Big-Time Game 1, 2 Efforts With Cavaliers
Though he’s now been with the Lakers for seven years, King James spent 11 of his 22 seasons (between two stints) with the Cavaliers.
James had 152 of his record 289 playoff appearances with Cleveland, scoring 30 or more points a whopping 77 times. James leads the franchise in most 30-plus-point playoff performances by a wide margin, with now-Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving in second at 12 and Mitchell ranking third with eight.
No other player has accomplished the feat more than twice.
LBJ first opened a Cavaliers playoff series with back-to-back 30-point efforts during the first round of the 2008 postseason (his fifth year in the league) against the Washington Wizards. James dropped 32 and 30 points in Games 1 and 2, respectively, during Cleveland’s six-game series victory.
He did it again the following year in the 2009 Eastern Conference Finals against the Orlando Magic, pouring in 49 and 35 points in Games 1 and 2, though the Cavaliers fell in six games. It then took James another six years to open a postseason series with Cleveland with consecutive 30-point games, as he spent four seasons with the Heat.
The four-time MVP did it in both the conference finals and NBA Finals in 2015, however, vs. the Atlanta Hawks and Golden State Warriors. James’ final two times scoring at least 30 in Games 1 and 2 for a Cavaliers’ playoff series came in 2017.
He erupted for 35 and 39 points in the opening contests of that year’s Eastern Conference semifinals set against the Toronto Raptors, before dropping 38 and 30 vs. the Boston Celtics in that spring’s conference finals.
The 40-year-old James has defied Father Time during his Lakers tenure, adding 12 games of 30 or more points in his 50 playoff contests with the team.
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