CLEVELAND (AP) — Donovan Mitchell had his worst first half in a playoff game since joining the Cleveland Cavaliers in September 2022.
No problem. The All-Star guard followed it up with one of the best 24-minute stretches by a player in NBA playoff history Monday night.
After scoring only four points in the first half, Mitchell responded with 39 in the second half, tying the NBA playoff record for most points in a half as the Cavaliers rallied for a 112-103 victory over the Detroit Pistons in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series.
“It’s pretty impressive. I'm not sure I’ve seen in the playoffs a turnaround like that where a guy is struggling and just absolutely turns the switch and complete opposite of the first half,” Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said.
Mitchell equaled Eric “Sleepy” Floyd's record on a free throw with 27.6 seconds remaining. He had a chance to break the record, set in 1987 when Floyd's Golden State Warriors faced the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference semifinals, but missed his second foul shot.
“Everybody let me know that I missed a free throw to break the record, though," Mitchell said. "I will say that, but we’re two and two headed to Detroit. That was what we came home to do and that’s all that matters.”
Mitchell didn't score until he made a free throw with 4:19 remaining in the second quarter. He also missed his first six shots from the field before hitting a 3-pointer from the left corner with 2:48 left in the first half.
Despite Mitchell's early struggles, the Cavaliers only trailed 56-52 at halftime. James Harden and Evan Mobley both kept Cleveland in the game in the first half as they combined for 26 points.
“I airball the first layup and was missing shots short," Mitchell said. "Sometimes it’s natural, right? I wasn’t really trying to get in there and force it and then just doubling down on the defensive end, trying to take whoever I’m guarding, take them out of the equation. I’m not tripping, we were down four at half.
"I always tell y’all it’s not just about the scoring, it’s about your overall impact on the game. And for me, it was just like, ‘OK, now I have an opportunity to try to get downhill’ and then started going in.”
Mitchell was 12 of 18 from the field in the second half, including three 3-pointers, and was 12 of 13 at the line. Cleveland's previous mark for most points in a half was 31 by Mitchell in Game 7 of its first-round series against Orlando in 2024.
Mitchell tied a franchise record for points in a quarter with 21 in the third as the Cavaliers seized control, outscoring the Pistons 38-21 in the quarter. He scored 15 during Cleveland’s 24-0 run that went from the last 12 seconds of the first half to the first six minutes of the third quarter.
The 24-0 run was the longest in an NBA playoff game since since Minnesota also scored 24 straight in Game 6 of its Western Conference semifinal series against Denver in 2024. It was also the longest spurt by Cleveland in a postseason game since play-by-play stats were kept in 1997-98. The previous high was 19 in an Eastern semifinal series contest against Boston.
“Donovan Mitchell was killing us, and that’s pretty much it," Pistons center Paul Reed said.
It was Mitchell's eighth playoff game with at least 40 points, his fourth with the Cavaliers. He has at least 30 points in three straight games as the series shifts to Detroit for Game 5 on Wednesday with it even at two games apiece.
Cleveland is still looking for its first road playoff win this season, and will need at least one if it hopes to make the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2018.
“We’ve had two good games to build off of, but it’s going to be a hostile environment," Mitchell said. “It’s going to be a lot of fun. And I think I know we’re ready for the challenge.”
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Cleveland Cavaliers' Donovan Mitchell, right, is fouled by Detroit Pistons' Javonte Green (31) in the first half of Game 4 of a second-round NBA basketball playoff series Monday, May 11, 2026, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Cleveland Cavaliers' Donovan Mitchell (45) shoots between Detroit Pistons' Caris LeVert, left, and Ausar Thompson, right, in the second half of Game 4 of a second-round NBA basketball playoff series Monday, May 11, 2026, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Cleveland Cavaliers' Donovan Mitchell (45) gestures after hitting a three-point basket inthe second half of Game 4 of a second-round NBA basketball playoff series against the Detroit Pistons Monday, May 11, 2026, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says his government is seeking specific guarantees from Western allies on how post-war security support would function when the nearly five-year war sparked by Russia's full-scale invasion of his nation finally ends.
Zelenskyy's comments in an interview aired late Thursday followed two days of discussions among allies in Brussels that focused on postwar security and reconstruction. They also came before planned three-way talks next week in Abu Dhabi between Ukraine, Russia and the United States, the first trilateral peace discussions since February.
While talks on the contours of peace continue, the grim reality of war remained front and center Friday in Ukraine, with more Russian drone attacks and a rising death toll from Moscow's guided bomb strike Monday on a former school operating as a humanitarian aid distribution center.
Russian overnight drone strikes caused extensive power outages in several regions, including the Kyiv area.
Two days of talks in Brussels discussed postwar reconstruction, funding for 2027 and security guarantees backed by the Ukrainian government’s Western allies. The meetings brought together officials from the U.S., U.K., France, Germany and the European Union, along with representatives from the World Bank and the U.S. investment group BlackRock, Ukrainian lead negotiator Rustem Umerov wrote in an online post.
“We separately discussed the threats from Russia to Ukraine and all of Europe, as well as joint steps to counter them,” Umerov wrote.
In his television interview, Zelenskyy said he wanted to see tangible results.
“What matters is that it’s clear on paper,” Zelenskyy said in an interview with Ukraine’s private 1+1 television broadcast late Thursday. “The question isn’t dozens of points, but simply an understanding of the outcome: If Russia starts (attacking) again, what will happen? Who will do what, with what means, and when?”
Zelenskyy said it was important to maintain bipartisan support for Kyiv in the United States but acknowledged Democrats’ sweeping victories in this week’s midterm elections could have a positive effect on U.S. assistance, including the faster delivery of Patriot missile interceptors that Kyiv says are vital to fend off Russian airstrikes.
“I believe our chances of getting additional assistance from the United States may now grow,” he said.
President Donald Trump met Thursday with Moscow envoy Kirill Dmitriev but declined to give details of what they discussed.
“There’s going to be an agreement, it’s going to be a big agreement and it’s going to involve more than Ukraine,” Trump said, adding that it might include all of Europe.
Trump, who has long boasted he could quickly broker an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine, has lately blamed Zelenskyy for refusing to make concessions to end the conflict. Trump did not meet Thursday with visiting Ukrainian officials who also were on hand for a ceremony in Washington with first lady Melania Trump.
Trump's son-in-law and envoy Jared Kushner said in a social media message that the goal of the Brussels talks was to “develop practical arrangements that address the security concerns of all sides, reduce the risk of future conflict and create a more stable and predictable security environment.”
The European Union played down expectations for an agreement anytime soon.
“We look forward to seeing it materialize, but there’s a lot of work that needs to go into it,” European Commission spokesperson Paula Pinho said. The commission hosted the first day of talks Wednesday at its Brussels headquarters.
“Above all, there needs to be a willingness on the side of the one who first started the war, the one who aggressed,” she told reporters, in a reference to Russia. “There’s a very long way to go there because we haven’t seen much movement on that side.”
Pinho welcomed the resumption of talks and what appeared to be “full engagement” on all sides.
The Kremlin on Friday did not comment on Trump’s remarks about a possible deal.
“There are no details,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. Peskov said Russia had received no ideas from Europe on security guarantees, but added that any discussion of security between Russia and Ukraine would at some point be “impossible” without Europe’s involvement.
The Kremlin spokesman accused the European side of “persistent indecisiveness and a lack of readiness,” adding that European leaders “haven’t even managed to decide who is authorized to speak on their behalf.”
The death toll from a Russian bomb attack this week on a shelter and a former school now being used as an aid distribution center rose to 53 after more bodies were recovered from the rubble, Mykhailo Semikin, acting head of the region’s military administration, said in an online post.
Ten powerful guided bombs destroyed the facility at Komyshuvakha, a village in southeast Ukraine. Several dozen people are still believed to be missing after what was one of the deadliest attacks in the region in nearly five years of fighting.
Russian strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure caused extensive power outages in seven regions of the country overnight and Friday morning, the Energy Ministry said.
The Kyiv region was hardest hit, with damage forcing continued grid restrictions and crews working on day and night shifts to restore power.
Zelenskyy said the electricity outages and resulting water cuts were worst in the Kyiv area, where “the challenges are very serious” for the capital’s residents and industry.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 227 attack drones, including 86 jet-powered ones, with strikes reported at 14 locations and falling debris at eight more. Overall, Ukraine’s air defenses shot down or suppressed 196 Russian drones overnight into Friday.
Russia’s Ministry of Defense said Friday that it shot down 142 Ukrainian drones overnight.
Associated Press writers Mike Corder in The Hague, Netherlands; Elise Morton in London; Lorne Cook in Brussels and Farnoush Amiri in New York contributed.
In this photo provided by Ukraine's 65th Mechanized Brigade press service, rescuers search for victims on the site of an underground school which was ruined in a Russian aerial guided bomb strikes, killing at least 43 in Komyshuvakha, Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026. (Andriy Andriyenko/Ukraine's 65th Mechanized Brigade via AP)
Davyd Arakhamia, lawmaker with President Zelenskyy's Servant of the People's party, second left, and Russian Presidential Envoy Kirill Dmitriev, right, hold letters written by first lady Melania Trump to their respective presidents during a meeting with the first lady and Russian and Ukrainian representatives in the Grand Foyer of the White House, Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attends the second and final day of the 30th Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government in Madrid, Spain, Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
In this photo provided by Ukraine's 65th Mechanized Brigade press service, an Orthodox Christian monastery is damaged following Russian aerial guided bomb strikes that killed at least 43 in Komyshuvakha, Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026. (Andriy Andriyenko/Ukraine's 65th Mechanized Brigade via AP)
