Cavaliers' big 3 of Mitchell, Harden and Mobley come up big in Game 2 win over Raptors

CLEVELAND (AP) — After not playing together much in the regular season, the Cleveland Cavaliers' new big three came up big in their first major playoff test.

Donovan Mitchell continued his postseason scoring prowess, and James Harden and Evan Mobley made big plays on both ends of the floor as the Cavaliers beat the Toronto Raptors 115-105 on Monday night for a 2-0 lead in their Eastern Conference first-round series.

“This was a superstar game. Those three led us,” Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said. “They hit the big shots. I think James had four steals in the second half, so excellent defensive. Evan really good defensively and Don just made some out-of-this-world, incredible shots. That's why they're stars.”

Mitchell scored 30 points, including four 3-pointers, and had seven rebounds, five assists and a steal in 37 minutes.

Harden added 28 points, but his biggest impact might have been on defense with five steals.

Mobley had a team-high eight rebounds and scored 25 points on 11-of-13 shooting.

It was the fourth time in franchise history the Cavaliers have had at least three players score 25 points in a playoff game. But Mitchell said it was Harden's constant attention on defense that made the difference Monday night. Cleveland forced Toronto into season-high 22 turnovers that led to 22 Cavaliers points.

“I think the biggest thing with him is he’s obviously an-all world offensive talent, but the one thing that jumps out to you as soon as he gets here is the communication about defense,” Mitchell said. “I’m over here in huddles talking about, ‘We could do this offensively.’ He’s like, ‘Man, we just need three stops in a row.’ He’s the vocal one on that.

“We have (the 2025) defensive player of the year (in Mobley), but when you have a guy like him (Harden) coming in and making defense the priority, that goes a long way for the group.”

Mitchell had nine points in the fourth quarter, including seven straight as the Cavaliers built a 106-90 lead with 3:09 remaining. The All-star guard added some flair in the final minute with a 13-foot turnaround bank shot with 45.3 seconds remaining.

Harden was 9 of 14 from the field and had five rebounds, four assists and one block. He moved past Rajon Rondo for seventh place in career postseason assists with 1,139.

Harden and Mobley showed some teamwork on defense during the fourth quarter. Mobley forced Toronto's Sandro Mamukelashvili to alter his shot in the paint, and Harden came up with the steal with 4:02 remaining, making it his fourth career playoff game with at least five.

Mitchell finished the sequence with a layup to make it 104-90.

“His communication of just talking while in the action is great and we need that,” Mobley said of Harden. “I know his tendencies now that he may go out to whoever’s next and stuff like that. And having those conversations prior that when you get into those situations, you already know what’s kind of about to happen and you come up with steals like that.”

Harden has said the communication since he was acquired from the Los Angeles Clippers on Feb. 4 has helped him get comfortable with Mitchell and Mobley, despite their lack of playing time together.

“I know we are behind. So I think what speeds that process up is communication and helping each other out,” he said. “I think our communication during games, practice days, whatever is very, very important. That can get us over the hump.”

Game 3 is Thursday night at Toronto.

“I think we did a solid job. There’s things we can clean up,” said Mitchell, who has scored at least 30 points in six of his last seven playoff games. “We just have to continue to stay mentally even-keel. They got it close, but we did what we were supposed to do.”

The Raptors will try to contain the Cavs' big three and get back in the series.

“To be honest, they’re a problem. They’re a problem and we’ve got to figure out how to fix that,” guard RJ Barrett said. “Now going home, we’ve got to get these next two.”

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

Cleveland Cavaliers center Evan Mobley (4) dunks next to Toronto Raptors guard Ja'kobe Walter, right, in the second half in Game 2 of a first-round NBA basketball playoffs series in Cleveland, Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Cleveland Cavaliers guard James Harden, center, keeps the ball fron Toronto Raptors forward Scottie Barnes, right, in the second half in Game 2 of a first-round NBA basketball playoffs series in Cleveland, Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Toronto Raptors guard Ja'kobe Walter (14) and Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) reach for the ball in the second half in Game 2 of a first-round NBA basketball playoffs series in Cleveland, Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) drives past Toronto Raptors forward RJ Barrett, left, in the second half in Game 2 of a first-round NBA basketball playoffs series in Cleveland, Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Jordan Martinook beat Linus Ullmark from the slot at 13:53 of the second overtime to help the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Ottawa Senators 3-2 on Monday night and take a 2-0 lead in their first-round playoff series.

Martinook — who was stopped on a penalty shot in the first OT — kept the winning play alive by chasing down a loose rebound toward the boards to keep the possession in the offensive zone. Moments later, Nikolaj Ehlers found Martinook between the circles to beat Ullmark, who was partially shielded by Carolina captain Jordan Staal at the top of the crease.

That set off a mob celebration by the Hurricanes around Martinook in a corner of the ice, ending a game that saw them hang on despite blowing a 2-0 lead and having an apparent winner by Mark Jankowski waved off in the first overtime due to an offside call on review.

The Hurricanes still had a chance to win it after the overturned goal, only for Ullmark to stop Martinook on the NHL's first OT postseason penalty-shot attempt since 2020.

“I didn't feel very good about myself after that penalty shot, and that intermission felt really long," Martinook said. “That was cool. I'm happy it worked out that way. It didn't matter who scored, but it was going to be a long night if that penalty shot came back to bite me.”

The Eastern Conference's top seed managed to protect home-ice advantage — barely — as the series moves to Canada’s capital for Game 3 on Thursday.

“That’s the toughest thing: You have it won, a hard-fought game, and then to have it turned over," Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "You’ve got to give the guys tons of credit, because our game didn’t change. We actually got better, I think, in the second overtime.”

Logan Stankoven and Sebastian Aho also scored for Carolina, while Frederik Andersen shook off giving up two second-period goals to finish with 37 saves and multiple key stops late.

Drake Batherson and Dylan Cozens scored for Ottawa, while Ullmark finished with 43 saves and was terrific all night. He had multiple big stops in the second period, one when he extended his glove to knock down a hammered one-timer from Taylor Hall as the puck shifted cross-ice to his left side. Another came in the final seconds of regulation when he got his left shoulder on Staal's shot from the top of the crease.

“A hell of an effort,” Senators coach Travis Green said. “Playoffs are hard sometimes. Some of the games you lose, they sting. This one's going to sting.”

The Hurricanes appeared to have pushed through late in the first OT, with Jankowski skating in to pounce on a loose rebound and beat Ullmark on the left side with 2:42 left to send the home crowd into a frenzy. But officials reviewed the sequence and determined that Staal didn’t have possession and control of the puck as he entered the zone, coming as Martinook skated through the middle across the blue line for a 1-on-1 chance on Ullmark.

That sequence ultimately led to a hooking penalty on Warren Foegele, with Carolina scrambling an extra attacker and getting Jankowski’s offside-overturned score and then Martinook's penalty shot.

“Hockey’s crazy, sports are crazy,” Martinook said. “Being able to score after that, I’ll tell my grandkids about that one, that’s for sure.”

The Senators played without defenseman Artem Zub, who left Game 1 with an undisclosed injury. He had been considered a game-time decision.

AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Ottawa Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark (35) has the shot of Carolina Hurricanes' Nikolaj Ehlers (27) go wide of the net with Senators' Jake Sanderson (85) nearby during the second period of Game 2 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series in Raleigh, N.C., Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)

Carolina Hurricanes' Jordan Martinook, second from right, celebrates after his winning overtime goal with Sean Walker (26), Taylor Hall (71) and K'andre Miller (19) following the second overtime of Game 2 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series against the Ottawa Senators in Raleigh, N.C., Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)

Carolina Hurricanes' Jordan Staal (11) wins a face-off against Ottawa Senators' Claude Giroux (28) during the first period of Game 2 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series in Raleigh, N.C., Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)

Ottawa Senators' Claude Giroux (28) battles for the puck with Carolina Hurricanes' Jalen Chatfield, right, and Jaccob Slavin (74) during the first period of Game 2 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series in Raleigh, N.C., Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)

Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Frederik Andersen (31) blocks a shot by Ottawa Senators' Fabian Zetterlund (20) with Senators' Brady Tkachuk (7) looking on during the first period of Game 2 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series in Raleigh, N.C., Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)

Ottawa Senators' Fabian Zetterlund (20) collides with Carolina Hurricanes' Seth Jarvis (24) and Alexander Nikishin (21) the first period of Game 2 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series in Raleigh, N.C., Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)