Cavs avoid embarrassing night behind Donovan Mitchell’s 48

The Cavaliers beat the Wizards on Friday night. That part goes in the standings. Just about everything else goes in the concern file.

Cleveland needed every bit of Donovan Mitchell’s 48 points to survive a Washington team that came in at 3-19 and was missing three starters.

Take Mitchell out of the equation and you are probably looking at one of the ugliest losses of the season.

Instead, the Cavs escaped with a 130-126 win that felt more like a warning than a relief.

The night actually started fine. Good pace. Decent energy. The Cavs looked like a team that benefited from time off and a pointed film session. Then the game happened.

Washington won the second quarter by nine. Cleveland settled. Too many early threes. Too little rim pressure.

The third quarter was worse. The Wizards opened the half on a 24-6 run and the Cavs barely put up resistance. No urgency in transition defense. No physicality. No adjustments. Just jacked shots and shrugged shoulders.

Against a bad team, that should never happen.

The Wizards carried a 15-point lead into the fourth and, frankly, deserved it. Cleveland finally woke up behind Mitchell and some much-needed juice from Craig Porter Jr., who gave them a spark when they badly needed one.

The Cavs made their run. Washington refused to fold. Mitchell finished it himself.

That’s probably not ideal.

Mitchell was brilliant. Forty-eight points. Tough shots. Big moments. He dragged Cleveland across the finish line.

Evan Mobley chipped in with a solid 23-point, 13-rebound night and did his part. Porter changed the tone. Lonzo Ball hit free throws. Enough pieces showed up to win.

But the bigger picture did not look great.

Darius Garland’s struggles continue. Zero-for-eleven from three is not noise. It is a trend that needs attention. The Cavs shot 28 percent from deep overall and still leaned into it like it was the only option. That has become a habit, and not a good one.

Needing a monster Mitchell night to beat a contender is one thing. Needing it to beat a depleted Wizards team is another.

So this was probably not progress so much as survival.

The Cavs are talented enough to be better than this. They are also inconsistent enough to keep creating these nights if they do not fix the basics. Defensive effort. Shot selection. Accountability when things slide.

They got the win. That matters. But nobody should confuse it for a major step forward.

Charlotte comes to town Sunday. Tip is at 3:30 p.m. EST. The Cavs (15-11) would be wise not to wait until the fourth quarter again to decide they care.