Donovan Mitchell looked like he’d just watched the final scene of Avengers: Infinity War—except instead of watching people get snapped away, it was his season, his teammates, and every Cavs fan’s hopes that turned to dust.

After an absolutely bonkers 64-win regular season, which had the city of Cleveland buzzing like it was 2016 all over again, the Cavaliers got bounced in five brutal games by the Indiana Pacers. Yup, the Cavs were the No. 1 seed in the East, had home-court advantage, and STILL got swept at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse like they were crumbs on the kitchen floor.

And nobody took it harder than Donovan Mitchell. We’re talking sitting-alone-on-the-bench-an-hour-after-the-game levels of heartbreak. Think Bambi’s mom-level pain, but in basketball form. “I just couldn’t believe it. Didn’t want to believe it. Don’t want to believe it. Still don’t want to believe it,” Mitchell said after the loss. “It’s tough. It’s tough to win in this league … We didn’t get it done, especially at home. That’s what hurts, you know?”

Bruh. The man poured his heart, soul, and probably his ankle ligaments into this series. Dude was hobbling around like a 1998 Undertaker but still dropped 35 points, 9 rebounds, 4 steals, and a block in Game 5. He averaged 34.2 points for the series. And this wasn’t some 35-point easy-breezy performance—Mitchell was grinding like a GTA character on a five-star wanted level.

And he wasn’t making excuses. “Everyone, I just feel like this is a lesson. Like I said, winning is tough. You’ve got to be willing to damn near die out there on the floor,” he said. “Not to say we weren’t. But for a full 48 minutes on a consistent basis, you’ve got to be that desperate. Can’t have little mistakes.”

That’s right. The man said you gotta be willing to die out there. Not dive. Not grind. DIE. Donovan Mitchell gave us one of the rawest, most emotional postgame interviews we’ve heard all year. “I can’t miss three free throws. I don’t give a damn how tired. Here we are. You know what I mean?”

Yes, Spida. We know. And so does Tyrese Haliburton, who shot Cleveland out of their own building like he was auditioning for a Marvel movie. He dropped 31 points in Game 5, hitting threes from places that legally shouldn’t even count. Dude pulled up from the logo like it was a layup. “I can’t not. Tyrese has hit four threes. I can’t not switch up. He hits a f**king three from the logo. Changes the game.”

That quote? Real. That pain? Palpable. That defense? Nonexistent. Mitchell was out there watching Haliburton cook like it was the Great British Bake-Off and nobody brought the oven mitts.

From Fire to Fizzle: Cavs Collapse at Home

The Cavs actually came out HOT in Game 5—up by 19 at one point! But that lead disappeared faster than a pizza slice in front of Jokic. The Pacers dropped a 28-12 run in the third quarter, turned Rocket Mortgage into Silence Mortgage, and casually ended Cleveland’s season.

And let’s not forget: the Cavs lost all three home games in this series. Like Mitchell said, “We were 0-3 at home. Let the city down. This place is special. This place is really special. And we didn’t get it done. That’s what hurts.”

This was supposed to be the year. The Cavs were built different. A 15-game win streak to start the season. Dominant defense. A stacked lineup. And yet here we are—another second-round exit. Kendrick Perkins came in swinging on social media faster than Skip Bayless on a bad hair day: “A Donovan Mitchell-led team has never been to a Conference Finals.” Harsh? Yes. True? Also yes.

Since arriving in Cleveland, Mitchell’s taken the Cavs to two playoff series wins and zero Eastern Conference Finals appearances. Even with Evan Mobley (24 points, 11 rebounds on 8-of-12 shooting) looking like a grown man in Game 5, it wasn’t enough. Darius Garland shot 4-of-16. Max Strus shot 0-of-9. Let’s just say the rim had a restraining order on the Cavs’ shooters.

Meanwhile, Indiana was casually ballin’. Haliburton, Nembhard (18 points on 7-of-11), and Siakam (21 points, 8 rebounds) looked like they were hooping in a summer league game. No pressure. Just vibes.

Coach Kenny Atkinson summed it up perfectly: “The truth of the matter is, we didn’t get to the level we wanted. We’re not pleased with that, and we’re not celebrating the season. We’ve got to figure out this last piece, how to get over this hump.”

But don’t count Spida out yet. He’s already thinking about next season like Thanos with the Infinity Stones. “Y’all gonna write us the f**k off, man. But we’ll be back,” Mitchell said. “We let the city down, we let each other down. But we’ll be back.”

So yeah, Cavs fans: grieve. Eat ice cream, scream into a pillow, rewatch LeBron’s block in 2016. But don’t give up hope. Because if Donovan Mitchell’s words mean anything, this team is going to come back swinging like Rocky Balboa.