THE ONLY SIGHT more prevalent than the damp towels and discarded ankle tape strewn about the floor in the cramped visitors locker room at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday were the thousand-yard stares on the faces of the Cleveland Cavaliers following an unprecedented loss in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.
The Cavs had led the hometown New York Knicks by 22 points with less than eight minutes remaining in the fourth quarter and lost by double digits, 115-104, at the end of overtime.
A shocking 44-11 run by the Knicks spoiled a series-opening upset bid by Cleveland, snapped the Cavs' 27-0 record of leading by 20 points or more at any point in a game this season and represented the second-largest fourth quarter collapse in NBA playoffs history (the Memphis Grizzlies blew a 24-point cushion against the LA Clippers in the first round in 2012).
Getting over the letdown is the latest challenge in a postseason full of them for Cleveland, which needed seven games to get past the Toronto Raptors in the first round (despite going up 2-0) and seven more to get past the Detroit Pistons in the second (despite leading 3-2 with Game 6 at home).
But it's a challenge star Donovan Mitchell -- who has taken the Cavs back to the conference finals for the first time since LeBron James led them to four straight from 2015-2018 -- relishes the chance to overcome.
"It's been worth it," Mitchell told ESPN on Wednesday, ahead of Thursday's Game 2 (8 p.m. ET, ESPN). "I would do it again in a heartbeat with this group, just because it's been a pleasure to come into work while being able to deal with the ups and the downs.
"It's not always the case to have such a great group while dealing with the playoff struggles... This group is great because we didn't just come here to be like, 'Hey! [We made it].' You know what I'm saying? But we built to that point, right? I think I don't know what that's like four years ago. If we get to the conference four years ago, are we just excited to be there? I don't know."
Mitchell, 29, has shown a patience for the process that is rare for a seven-time All-Star still searching for his first ring. The Cavs organization has shown patience under president of basketball operations, Koby Altman, with a near decade-long rebuild since James left for Los Angeles. But now that Cleveland is knocking on the door for a title, how long will that patience last with this group if it doesn't deliver?
AN HOUR BEFORE Game 1, in that same cramped visitors locker room at MSG, the Cavs players had been far more animated than they were postgame, with news quickly spreading that Jason Kidd had been let go as coach of the Dallas Mavericks.