CLEVELAND — All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell took forward Evan Mobley aside at halftime of a crucial Game 5 and reminded him of how aggressive he can, and how much the Cavaliers needed it.
Mobley followed that directive, and it’s one of the biggest reasons — along with a superb second half by backup guard Dennis Schroder — the Cavs beat the Toronto Raptors in Game 5 on April 29 and took a 3-2 series lead. They’ll have a chance to close out the first-round series in Game 6 in Toronto May 1.
“I spoke to him a little bit at halftime. I was just like, ‘Bro, go. Go!'” Mitchell said after Cleveland’s 125-120 win at Rocket Arena, again giving them control of the series. “A lot of it was him, obviously on the boards, the defensive presence, but just offensively, not being deterred by anything, which was huge.”
Mobley had his most impactful game of the playoffs to date, finishing with 23 points on 8-for-13 shooting from the floor to go with nine rebounds and three blocks. He also notably made all three of his 3-point attempts.
And with the Cavs down double digits in the third quarter and badly needing a spark, Mobley hit one of those 3s and another bucket in the final minute to cut the Raptors’ lead from eight points to three heading into the fourth quarter. Considering the urgent need to protect home court heading into Game 6 in Toronto, it might have saved the Cavs’ playoff chances for now.
“I mean, big time. The timely 3s, right?” Mitchell said. “He’s ready for those moments. He wants those moments.”
Evan Mobley stats
Mobley had a tumultuous 2025-26 regular season. After taking a mammoth step forward last year en route to being named NBA Defensive Player of the Year and generally being considered a top-15 player in the league, the Cavs tried to expand his game but saw mixed results.
They’ve continued to encourage him to shoot 3s whenever he’s open, but that part of his game hasn’t evolved as quickly as they might have hoped.
In Game 5, though, Mobley was on the money, again showing that every now and then he can become a top scoring option for some stretches in big games, even with Mitchell and James Harden on the floor.
“I mean, those 3s were like — we needed them,” said Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson. “I know that’s not his bread and butter but, man, he hit them and hit them with confidence.”
Jarrett Allen stats
Along with Mobley’s offensive outburst, center Jarrett Allen finished with nine points on an efficient 4-for-5 shooting from the floor. He also came up with three blocked shots, including one down the stretch that helped hold the Raptors’ comeback attempt at bay.
“Yeah, we celebrated that in the locker room,” Atkinson said of Allen’s blocks. “Unsung hero. … They were going at the rim hard and he had some big blocks, especially in the fourth quarter. I thought he really stepped up.”
Game 5 was arguably the first in which Mobley and Allen both had a certain level of positive impact in this series, a badly missed element in the Cavs’ recipe for success.
And their emergence to a greater extent is a major reason why the Cavs are on the cusp of advancing to the second round with a win in Game 6 rather than needing a victory simply to survive another day.
Ryan Lewis covers the Cavaliers for the Akron Beacon Journal. He can be reached at rlewis1@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen come through for Cavs in Game 5 win
Reporting by Ryan Lewis, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
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