Cavs’ Donovan Mitchell After Late-Game Magic Act Tops Celtics: ‘This Is Growth’

December 2, 2024

CLEVELAND — For a while there, it looked bleak. The Cavaliers found themselves staring at the edge of another ugly loss on Sunday night, the kind that might make you question just how good this team really is.

Down 14 in the third quarter to the reigning NBA champion Boston Celtics, it felt like the Cavs might just fold up and head home early.

But Donovan Mitchell? He had other plans.

Let’s call it one of those nights where you remember why you went out and got a guy like Mitchell in the first place. The Cavs star poured in 30 points in the second half — 20 of those in the fourth quarter alone — and almost single-handedly pulled Cleveland to a 115-111 win.

And he didn’t just score; he dominated. He hit three straight 3-pointers in less than two minutes late in the fourth, then iced the game with a runner that gave the Cavs the lead for good.

Afterward, coach Kenny Atkinson couldn’t stop praising Mitchell, and honestly, how could you blame him?

“Donovan’s got this calm about him,” Atkinson said. “Even when things aren’t going right, he keeps everyone steady. He’s so much better at that than me. I’m over there pacing, worried. He’s like, ‘Relax. We’re going to be fine.’”

It wasn’t just Mitchell’s scoring. It was his timing. Every bucket seemed to come when the Cavs absolutely needed it. And when Jayson Tatum started heating up — he finished with 33 points — Mitchell raised his game even higher.

Mitchell talked about how the game reminded him of last season’s playoff series against Boston. That’s when the Cavs fell apart in Game 3 after the Celtics went on a big third-quarter run. Sunday night could’ve gone the same way. But it didn’t.

“This is growth,” Mitchell said. “Last year, maybe we don’t pull this one out. But we’ve been through that, and we’re learning from it. These are the games you have to win if you want to be the team we’re trying to be.”

Let’s not forget about Darius Garland, either. The Celtics kept switching to get Tatum matched up on him in the fourth quarter, clearly thinking they could take advantage of the size mismatch. And while Tatum got his points, Garland never backed down.

“I’m no punk,” Garland said. “They can come at me if they want, but I’m not going to run from it. I’m going to take the challenge.”

It’s worth mentioning that the Celtics were missing starters Jaylen Brown (illness) and Derrick White (foot). But the Cavs weren’t exactly firing on all cylinders, either.

They turned the ball over too much, they struggled to find rhythm on offense at times, and they had long stretches where they just didn’t look like themselves.

Still, they found a way. That’s the thing about this team — it’s not perfect, but it’s learning.

“Games like this, they test you,” Atkinson said. “We needed this one, not just for the standings, but for our belief. To be down like that against a team like Boston and come back? That says a lot about who we are.”

At 18-3, the Cavaliers still hold the NBA’s best record. They’re not a finished product by any stretch, but on nights like this, you can see the foundation of something real.