Donovan Mitchell positive, but admits Cavs ‘not pretty right now’

It wasn’t a thing of beauty, and it rarely is when Donovan Mitchell has to play the role of basketball savior.

But that he did, scoring 14 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter, lifting the Cavaliers to a comeback of a 108-100 home win over the Grizzlies on Saturday.

The Cavs (9-5) don’t quite look like themselves, not without All-Star point guard Darius Garland. But they’re finding a way most nights.

This was one of them — but almost solely because of Mitchell (at least offensively).

It worked on Saturday. Still, the Cavs know it’s not a sustainable approach. 

“We’re going to go through ruts,” Mitchell told reporters. “Guys are in and out the lineup. So many different things. But we’ve still got to be that team.

“Fortunately, tonight we were able to find it and execute it. Tonight, we answered the call when needed. I think we pushed through the mental fatigue and mental funk.”

This was different than the other night against the Raptors. The Cavs were not able to push through. They looked nearly as lethargic this time. The difference, of course, being the outcome.

“We just kept going and we kept going,” Mitchell said. “That’s what I’ve been saying. It’s like the mental push. That’s what we did tonight.

“It’s 14 games in. I wish we were a little bit ahead of that, but we’re not. We’ve got to be better. We’re going to build the way we need to build. It’s not pretty right now.

”Unfortunately it’s not. We know that. We’re going to work on that and get better. But it’ll all come together and we’ve just got to keep building.”

Evan Mobley bounced back from a no-show of a night with 22 points and 13 rebounds on Saturday. Jarrett Allen added 16 points and Sam Merrill scored 13.

Far from a masterpiece. But a victory. That’s all the standings will show.

”I felt like we were stuck in mud again for three quarters,” Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said. “We couldn’t get on a sustained run until the fourth quarter, so credit to them. But a 16-point fourth quarter.

“That was really the key. It wasn’t our offense. Don made some great plays, and Evan stepped it up, but our defense saved us because we didn’t have it offensively tonight.”