Mitchell on Cavs Game 1 loss: 'I don't flop, maybe that's why'

Detroit walked into Cleveland and stole Game 1. Pistons 111, Cavs 101. Cade Cunningham went for 23 and 7, Tobias Harris dropped 20, and the Pistons snapped a 12-game losing streak to Cleveland at exactly the wrong time for the Cavs — they hadn't lost a series opener at home all postseason. They have now.

Donovan Mitchell finished with two free throw attempts the entire game. After it ended, he didn't bother dressing it up. "I don't flop, maybe that's why." He stopped short of going further: "A friend of mine got fined for talking about flop, so I won't double down."

The free-throw disparity is real — but Cleveland also got beat on the boards and got cooked by Cunningham. Mitchell knows that too. "The free-throw disparity is not why we lost." The Cavs needed Game 1. They didn't get it. Game 2 is Thursday.