The Cleveland Cavaliers bounced back to beat the Boston Celtics on Sunday night following losses to the Atlanta Hawks.
By the third quarter, it looked like the defending Eastern Conference champions might deal Cleveland another blow.
Missing key players Jaylen Brown (illness) and Derrick White (foot), Boston still managed to build a 14-point lead.
But Donovan Mitchell refused to let the game slip away, delivering a spectacular second-half performance.
Mitchell scored 30 points after half-time, including a flawless 6-for-6 shooting display in the fourth quarter, as he outdueled Jayson Tatum to lead Cleveland to a 115-111 victory.
Speaking after the match, he said: “In the third. I kind of felt it then, especially — and I’m going to be selfish when I say this — when [Tatum] hit a shot over me.
“I was like, ‘He’s starting to get it going, they’re starting to get confidence, they’re starting to build, we’re turning it over.’ … In the third, I was just waiting, just trying to figure out where to go.
HARD-FOUGHT DUB.
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“And then, when I came back in the fourth, kind of be like, ‘All right, give me the ball. It’s time to go.’ And I was just telling somebody, ‘Shots may not fall. I may go 0-for-6.’ But you know what? You have to find a way to be like, ‘I’m going to be aggressive right here. Get to my spots and if we go out, we’ll go like this.’ And that’s what tonight was.”
Mitchell’s late-game brilliance included three three-pointers in just 93 seconds, erasing a Boston lead and tying the game.
He then hit a clutch shot with 1:07 left, giving Cleveland the lead for good.
Sunday’s comeback victory was a marked difference from Game 3 of last season’s Eastern Conference semi-finals against Boston.
Mitchell recalled how the Celtics surged ahead in that game with a 14-0 third-quarter run, a blow Cleveland couldn’t recover from.
This time, however, the Cavaliers showed their growth, rallying behind their star player to retain the league’s best record at 18-3.
Atkinson praised Mitchell’s leadership and ability to stay composed under pressure.
back in the W column. 😎 #LetEmKnow pic.twitter.com/KIZJ1VXdr8
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“That’s Donovan’s persona,” Atkinson said. “It’s amazing, I’ve never seen a guy [like him].
“He never gets down. You’d think guys would kick the chair or get frustrated.
“He has a great demeanour about him and never gets too down or too high. He’s much better than the coaches in terms of that.
“He’s just like, ‘Everybody calm down, it’s going to be all right.’ And I think that really helps you bounce back from a poor first half like that.”
The Cavaliers began the season with a perfect 15-0 record before encountering some turbulence.
Sunday’s win helped them bounce back after losing three of their previous five games.
Mitchell added: “I think that just speaks to the growth of our group.
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“I think you go back to when I first got here, obviously we’re younger, we’re not as familiar with each other, [and we’d] kind of fold in those situations.
“You’re just seeing the growth, and that’s the biggest thing I feel like is for us just continuing to build … if we continue to grow and continue to learn from these different things, that’s really what it’s about. That’s what tonight was.
“We could have easily been like, ‘All right, turning the ball over, different things, not getting stops, offense kind of bogged down.’ But who were we when we hit adversity? And that’s what I’ve been saying.
“It’s great to learn through these wins, but when we face adversity, who are we going to be? And that’s what you’re continuously seeing from this group. We’ve been trying games and different things, and so I’m proud of the way we fought.”
