Dribbles: Cavs Drive To Gritty Win Over Celtics, With Donovan Mitchell Firmly Behind Wheel

December 1, 2024

CLEVELAND — Random dribbles from the Cavaliers’ 115-111 thriller of a home win over the Boston Celtics on Sunday.

1. This is why it’s so valuable to have a superstar on your team. Eventually, you know they’re going to pull it together and take over.

2. On Sunday, that was Donovan Mitchell. The Cavs looked lifeless, defeated. They trailed by 14 in the third quarter. They had already lost two in a row (both to Atlanta). They had already lost to Boston.

3. As Mitchell said, “We could’ve easily just folded.”

4. Mitchell had been laboring most of the night. He was coming off a miserable 5-of-23 shooting performance in the loss to the Hawks on Friday. He couldn’t buy a bucket for most of this one.

5. But after Celtics star Jayson Tatum hit a shot, he started to celebrate. Mitchell said it was then he realized he needed to find a way. He didn’t want to force anything or “play hero ball.” He wanted to try to put the team on his back. He started thinking of ways to do it.

6. And boy did he ever. He went 6-of-6 shooting in the fourth quarter. That included a couple of massive 3-pointers from the top of the circle. The first came with 2:10 to go, cutting the Celtics’ lead to 99-98. The second came about 20 seconds later. It tied it at 101-all. The crowd went berserk.

7. Then Mitchell buried a floater to make it 103-101, a lead the Cavs would never relinquish.

8. But wait. There’s more. After another Celtics miss, Mitchell started to drive, passing to a cutting Isaac Okoro — who passed to a cutting Evan Mobley. Slam dunk. With 34 seconds to go, the Cavaliers were up 105-101.

9. It became a free-throw shooting contest after that, and the Cavs didn’t miss. Mitchell (4-of-4). Darius Garland (4-of-4). Georges Niang (2-of-2). Mitchell iced it with 4.3 seconds to go. They were only free throws, but man were they huge.

10. Bottom line: The Cavs (18-3) really needed this one. It’s true that the Celtics didn’t have starters Jaylen Brown (illness) or Derrick White (foot). But recently, Cleveland had been struggling and even looked a little lost.

11. Then came the fourth quarter on Sunday. “Oh man, what a game,” coach Kenny Atkinson said. “We looked down and out, huh?”

12. Oh yes the Cavaliers did. Turnovers. Bricks. Missed defensive assignments. Tatum (33 points) and Payton Pritchard (24) going nuts. It felt like a lost cause for the Cavs.

13. Cleveland started 15-0. Remember that? It was Boston that handed the Cavs their first loss. They didn’t forget. “You always want to get a team back after they beat you,” Mitchell admitted.

14. Afterward, Atkinson was asked about Mitchell. “Did he miss a shot in the fourth quarter,” Atkinson asked. The answer was no. Atkinson added that he liked how Mitchell didn’t force anything, how those perfect 12 minutes came “in the flow” of the game.

15. Mitchell indicated he knew he wasn’t going to continue to struggle shooting. “It’s gonna happen,” he said. “You just have to continue to trust your work.”

16. For the previous two games and the first three quarters of this one, the Cavaliers were a bumbling, stumbling basketball mess. Niang even dribbled the ball off his foot in third quarter — and it rolled right out of bounds. So Atkinson was right when he said the Cavs looked down and out.

17. A year ago, they would’ve lost a game like this. “If we continue to learn and grow from these types of games, that’s what it’s all about,” Mitchell said. “When we face adversity, who are we gonna be?”

18. It’s evident that the Cavs will no longer be a team that just collapses. Mitchell recorded 35 points on his way to saving the day. Garland was brilliant in the first half, finishing with 22 points and a game-high eight assists. Niang and Caris LeVert added 13 points apiece in reserve.

19. The Celtics (16-4) kept going right at Garland with Tatum. While Tatum hit some remarkable shots, Garland never backed down. He kept right on scrapping. “I’m no punk,” he said. “I’ll always take that challenge.”

20. This also may be the first time the Cavs won a game where they were fairly sloppy and their usual good looks weren’t going in. “We weren’t making shots at a high level,” Atkinson said. “… So it really showed character and resilience (to win).”

21. No matter, Atkinson was a little concerned entering this one. “After those two losses to Atlanta, I was like, ‘Are we never gonna win another game?'” he said, smiling. “It’s natural to have those doubts.”

22. The Cavs answered them on Sunday, winning a game they really wanted and simply refused to lose. It was the type of performance that bodes well for the future.

23. Mitchell with the final word: “That was like a playoff game. For us, it’s just about continuing to do what we can do, continuing to fight.”