Mitchell breaks out of slump with 40 point performance
Photo credit David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
(Cleveland, Ohio) The Cavs beat the Atlanta Hawks 128-105 behind Donovan Mitchell’s 40 point performance.
The Cavs hosted the Atlanta Hawks for the first time this season, their matchup was also the final In-Season Tournament group play game.
Donovan Mitchell came out very aggressive in the opening quarter. He was 3/6, scored 7 points and also grabbed 4 rebounds. However, Mitchell was sloppy with the ball as he had 3 turnovers to start the game.
The Hawks capitalized on the Cavs turnovers and scored 5 points off 5 Cavalier mishaps. The Hawks also punished the Cavs on the offensive glass. They totaled 3 offensive rebounds which led to 7 second chance points for the Hawks.
The first period saw 8 lead changes in the quarter, and the Cavs would only end the quarter down 4 points.
The end of the quarter had its own drama as Donovan Mitchell nailed a 3 pointer a few steps inside the half court line. However, after an official review the shot was overturned and the deficit remained 33-29.
After the Cavs shot 1/7 from behind the arc in the 1st quarter, they’d go 4/10 in the 2nd quarter and use a 14-4 run to take the lead from the Hawks 55-53. The Cavs attacked the Hawks defense as they took 7 free throws in the quarter and outscored the Hawks in the paint 10-6. The Cavs ended the half with a 64-61 lead.
To start the 3rd quarter Mitchell scored the Cavs first 8 points of the quarter. Mitcehll ended the quarter with 12 points and 3 assists as he broke out of his slump and finished the game with 40 points 11 rebounds, 5 assist, and 3 steals.
Coach Bickerstaff in postgame pointed to Mitchell’s efficiency and his selflessness for being the reason behind his performance Tuesday night.
“He’s so efficient, as a scorer and a shot maker. His ability to draw fouls, get to the free throw line, get to the rim. He doesn’t need to overshadow a game to have big numbers. This year we play with a little more pace, more possessions, so guys have more opportunities. This isn’t an outlier for Donovan, he’s not a hog offensively. He knows how to pick his spots, but knows how to blend in with his teammates and get his teammates involved also and again when a guy got a hot hand teammates know to get him the ball, I think that was one of those nights for Donovan.”
Mitchell wasn’t the only Cavalier to have a huge night, Evan Mobley had a dominant performance, he scored 17 points, 19 rebounds, and 7 blocks. Coach Bickerstaff praised his young big man for not needing to score big points to dominate a game.
“It’s cliche, there’s no limit to what Evan Mobley can be, he is a flat out stud on both ends of the floor. There’s not many people who now or in the future will have the ability to impact the game on both sides of the floor the way that he can. Again everybody is pressing, score, score, score, but Evan Mobley is an elite basketball player. He’s not a one dimensional guy, a stat doesn’t dictate how impactful he is on the floor. You see him, he’s all over the place, 17 points, 19 rebounds, 7 blocks, he’s all over the floor doing everything, and that’s the type of basketball player he is. So his numbers may not be or points may not be what people want it to be, but Evan Mobley is a stud and he can dominate a game like he did tonight.”
The Cavs closed the 3rd quarter with a 12 point lead and opened the 4th quarter with a 10-5 run and didn’t let the Hawks cut the deficit under 9. The wine and gold played their best defensive quarter in the final period, the only allowed 15 points and blocking 8 shots.
The Cavs defense also held Trae Young to 13 points, Coach Bickerstaff praised his guys for playing team defense, and not relying on just one player.
“As talented as Trae Young is, as good of a scorer he is, as elite as he is as a basketball player and a playmaker, I thought Darius did a great job taking the challenge and forcing him into tough situations. He also had his teammates help, that’s the way our team is built defensively, it’s never one man’s job to slow down a guy as elite as Trae Young, our big guys I thought did a phenomenal job in pick and roll, Darius did a great job of taking the challenge and getting him to the spots we needed him to be so our bigs could do there job.”
The Cavs improved to 10-8 on the season, and are now 5-5 at home. The Cavs will host the Portland Trail Blazers (5-12) in the final game of their 5 game homestand Thursday, November 30th.
