Cleveland Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell was in disbelief that his team was eliminated from the playoffs in Tuesday night’s 114-105 Game 5 loss to the Indiana Pacers.

Mitchell posted 35 points in the season-ending contest, and after the defeat spent some time on the bench to reflect on the loss.

“Just couldn’t believe it, didn’t want to believe it, don’t wanna believe it, still don’t want to believe it” Mitchell said of the loss postgame. “It’s tough to win in this league, give them credit. We didn’t do the things necessary. I love playing in that f–king arena, man. That energy, that crowd, 0-3 at home, let the city down. This place is special. This place is really special, and we didn’t get it done. Especially at home, that’s what hurts.”

The Cavs lost all three games on their home court to the Pacers and coughed up a 19-point lead Tuesday in front of their home fans. This disappointment comes after a 64-win season to finish first in the East, and sweeping the Miami Heat in the first round.

Despite the positives, Mitchell doesn’t view this season as a success and said there are “no moral victories here,” per The Inside Shot’s Danny Cunningham.

Even with Mitchell viewing this season as a failure, he still has belief in what the roster can do in the years to come, no matter what people might think of them.

“Y’all gonna write us the f–k off, man. … We’ll be back,” Mitchell said.

He added, “Getting beat down like this. And y’all are gonna write some shit about us, man, and that’s gonna be fuel. Like, fuel for everybody. Y’all gonna say a lot of shit. Y’all are, and that’s what it takes. I’ve been here, so I understand. We understand, and now we just got to use it as fuel for next year.”

Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson has already pointed out two areas needing improvement.

“(The Pacers) presented a physical challenge, that’s probably the first off the bat,” Atkinson said postgame. “And to their credit, they could sustain longer than we could. So now that’s not all physical, I think part of that is mental. The mental strength too, it’s part of our growth. We obviously got to arrive physically better to compete with a team like this, that plays at this high intense pace. … Now we got to find a way to match it, and we didn’t.”

He continued, “The mental part, we gotta get over that. I just felt like we’ve got another jump to make with our mental strength. But I love our togetherness, I love our leadership, I love our maturity, all that, so those would be the two areas I think right off the bat we’ve got to get better.”

A number of injuries also halted Cleveland’s title hopes in the second round. Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, and De’Andre Hunter seemed to be playing through ailments. Mitchell praised his teammates’ grit amidst that adversity.

“I would go to bat for every guy in that locker room,” Mitchell said. “I’m willing to die out there for those guys.”