CLEVELAND — Sometimes, a season turns on a moment. For the Cleveland Cavaliers, Sunday night's 115-111 victory over the Boston Celtics might be one of those moments.
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After back-to-back losses to the Atlanta Hawks, the Cavs found themselves staring down adversity for the first time this season. They were down 14 points in the third quarter to a Celtics team missing Jaylen Brown (silliness) and Derrick White (foot). It was the kind of game that, in years past, could have spiraled out of control.
But not this time. Not with Donovan Mitchell in the fold.
Mitchell took over in the second half, scoring 30 of his 43 points, including a jaw-dropping 20 in the fourth quarter. He didn't just shoot Cleveland back into the game; he willed the Cavaliers to victory. Three triples in a 93-second span turned a Boston lead into a tie. Then, a calm runner in the lane with just over a minute left gave Cleveland the lead for good.
"I kind of felt it in the third," Mitchell said afterward. "I was just waiting, trying to figure out where to go. And then in the fourth, it was like, 'All right, give me the ball. It's time to go.'"
That's the difference Mitchell brings. He's not afraid of the moment, and the Cavs are starting to mirror his fearlessness.
Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson called it "growth" and pointed to the way his team didn't panic.
"It looked like we were down and out in that third quarter," Atkinson said. "They were rolling, the crowd was kind of down, we were all kind of down. But Donovan just has this demeanor. He calms everyone down."
The other key to the comeback was Darius Garland, who found himself matched up against Jayson Tatum down the stretch. On paper, that's a mismatch in Boston's favor. But Garland battled. He forced Tatum into tough shots and disrupted Boston's flow.
"I'm no punk," Garland said. "If they want to hunt me out, that's cool. I'm going to take the challenge."
Tatum, who finished with 33 points, was brilliant for much of the night. But in the fourth quarter, he shot just 2-for-7, as the Cavaliers' defense stiffened.
This win doesn't erase the sting of those two losses to Atlanta. And it doesn't mean Cleveland has arrived. But it does show that this team is learning how to handle adversity. It's about more than talent. It's about resilience, and the Cavaliers showed plenty of it on Sunday.
"We could have folded," Mitchell said. "But who are we when we hit adversity? That's what I've been saying all year. Tonight was about finding out, and I'm proud of the way we fought."
In the standings, it's just one win. But for the Cavaliers, it might mean a whole lot more.
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