Cavs, Donovan Mitchell rise at right time, take down Grizzlies

The Cavaliers waited all night to flip the switch. When they finally did, their star made sure it mattered.

Donovan Mitchell dragged Cleveland out of what was shaping up to be one of those “what are we doing?” nights, powering a late surge that turned a flat performance into a 108-100 win over the Grizzlies on Saturday.

The Cavs are 9-5 now. Memphis fell to 4-10 and has dropped four straight.

Mitchell had joked two nights earlier that he’s a “sicko” who enjoys early-season adversity. Well, he got plenty of it.

The Cavs played most of the evening like a team stuck in neutral, trailing for more than 38 minutes and falling behind by as many as 11. They were down eight entering the fourth. The building felt sleepy. The Cavs looked sleepy.

And then the fourth quarter hit.

Cleveland opened the final frame with an 8-1 spurt to make it a one-point game. A few possessions later, Mitchell buried a go-ahead three that blew the roof off Rocket Arena, followed by a De’Andre Hunter baseline finish to extend the lead.

From there, it was Mitchell time. He accounted for 18 straight Cavs points, breaking down defenders, getting to his spots, and waving for the crowd to rise as Cleveland’s lead ballooned to double digits.

It wasn’t pretty. It didn’t have to be.

The Cavs outscored Memphis 32-16 in the quarter.

Mitchell finished with 30 points, 14 of them in the fourth, along with five rebounds and five assists. Evan Mobley rebounded from a quiet Thursday with 22 points and 13 boards. Jarrett Allen added 16. Sam Merrill chipped in 13.

All of it came with Darius Garland (toe), Max Strus (foot surgery) and Jaylon Tyson (concussion) still out.

Memphis got Ja Morant back — briefly. He tried to give it a go after missing a game with ankle soreness but headed to the locker room after six minutes and was ruled out almost immediately with right calf soreness.

The Grizzlies couldn’t recover, shooting 36% from the field and 28% from deep. Jaren Jackson Jr. had 26 points. Zach Edey posted 13 and seven in his first game of the season. Santi Aldama supplied a double-double off the bench.

Mitchell has talked about wanting more “tests” this season. Saturday counted. The Cavs were pushed, poked, dragged through a long night… and still found enough toughness to steal one back.

Up next: Milwaukee comes to town Monday at 7 p.m.