<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/news/cavs-news-kenny-atkinson-gives-donovan-mitchell-props-for-huge-4th-quarter');   ga('set', 'title', 'Cavs’ Kenny Atkinson gives Donovan Mitchell props for huge 4th quarter');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.cavsnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Cavs-guard-Donovan-Mitchell-45-reacts.jpg"><figcaption>© Geoff Burke-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Cavs’ Kenny Atkinson gives Donovan Mitchell props for huge 4th quarter</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-12-12T23:02:59-08:00">December 12th, 11:02pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-12-12T23:02:59-08:00">December 12th, 11:02pm</time><address><a>Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cavs News</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>It can be a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/cleveland-cavaliers/cavs-news-cleveland-learns-hard-truths-uncomfortable-film-session" rel="noopener">bit concerning that the Cleveland Cavaliers</a>, after flaming out in spectacular fashion during the 2025 NBA playoffs are sleepwalking through the 2025-26 campaign. They’ve been okay, but the air of dominance that they carried themselves with last year, even just in the regular season, <a href="https://cavsnation.com/news/cavs-news-kenny-atkinson-uncomfortable-callout-flip-switch-underwhelming-start">seems to be all but gone now</a>. In fact, the Washington Wizards, the team with the worst record in the league, pushed them to the brink on Friday night.</p><p>But the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/cleveland-cavaliers/cavs-news-donovan-mitchell-explodes-48-points-cleveland-escapes-wizards">Cavs have a true superstar in Mitchell</a> who simply won’t accept a loss to the lowly Wizards lying down. He scored 24 points in the fourth quarter alone to rescue Cleveland from what would have been an embarrassing defeat, overturning a deficit that grew to as big as 17 en route to a 130-126 victory.</p><p>Mitchell finished with 48 points on the night, and there remains no question as to who the Cavs’ best player is. While it is worrying that they needed this herculean performance just to beat the Wizards, what matters the most to the Cavs is that they got the victory.</p><p>After the game, Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson <a href="https://x.com/davidaldridgedc/status/1999673528287965605?s=20" rel="noopener">was asked</a> what his team found down the stretch to get the win. His answer was straight to the point, crediting Mitchell for a job well done.</p><p>“We found Donovan Mitchell,” Atkinson said, via David Aldridge of The Athletic.</p><h2><b>Cavs have to wake up</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.cavsnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Cavs-Donovan-Mitchell-Evan-Mobley.jpg"><figcaption>Ken Blaze-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The Cavs may be without Jarrett Allen, but this team prided itself on its depth last season and won 64 games even though they were routinely resting their key players. This season, the Cavs’ defense is ranked outside the top 10, and their offense, which <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/teams/advanced?Season=2024-25&amp;dir=A&amp;sort=OFF_RATING" rel="noopener">led the league</a> last season in points scored per 100 possessions, just ranks 10th.</p><p>This Cavs squad has lofty ambitions of winning a title, and considering how elite the Oklahoma City Thunder have been, this kind of play isn’t going to get the job done. They have to wake up, and <a href="https://cavsnation.com/news/cavs-news-how-donovan-mitchell-kenny-atkinsons-unprecedented-demand-pacers-game">Mitchell’s heroic effort has to be a huge call</a> for them to do so.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Cavs’ Kenny Atkinson gives Donovan Mitchell props for huge 4th quarter

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/cleveland-cavaliers/cavs-news-donovan-mitchell-explodes-48-points-cleveland-escapes-wizards');   ga('set', 'title', '‘Superhero’ Donovan Mitchell explodes with 48 points as Cavs escape with win vs. Wizards');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Superhero-Donovan-Mitchell-explodes-with-48-points-as-Cleveland-escapes-vs.-Wizards.jpg"></figure><h1>‘Superhero’ Donovan Mitchell explodes with 48 points as Cavs escape with win vs. Wizards</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-12-12T20:34:51-08:00">December 12th, 8:34pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-12-12T21:04:42-08:00">December 12th, 9:04pm</time><address><a href="https://spindavies.myportfolio.com/home">Spencer Davies</a>Spencer Davies has covered the NBA and the Cleveland Cavaliers as a credentialed reporter for over a decade. His work has appeared on Basketball News, Sports Illustrated, Bleacher Report, USA Today, FOX Sports, HoopsHype, CloseUp360, FanSided, and Basketball Insiders, among others. In addition to his journalistic experience, he has been a senior editor, a digital production assistant, a social media manager, a sports radio anchor, and a producer.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cleveland Cavaliers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Cleveland Cavaliers were on the precipice of a long, difficult plane ride home from the nation’s capital before <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/cleveland-cavaliers/cavs-news-donovan-mitchell-darius-garland-cleveland-crippling-characteristic">NBA MVP candidate Donovan Mitchell</a> came to the rescue again.</p><p>“We found Donovan Mitchell, or Donovan Mitchell found us,” Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson said postgame. “It was one of the best performances I’ve ever seen. He had 35 in the second half.”</p><p>Trailing 100-85 on the road to an inexperienced Washington Wizards team with a 3-19 record and no Alex Sarr, Bilal Coulibaly, Khris Middleton, or Corey Kispert, Mitchell detonated for half of his 48 points in the fourth quarter to help the Cavs escape D.C. with a 130-126 win. His 24 points in the final frame are the most in the NBA this year. It was also a season-high overall and the second-highest point total of his career.</p><p>Once again, the Cavs relied upon their <a href="https://www.nba.com/game/cle-vs-was-0022501212/play-by-play" rel="noopener">six-time All-Star guard</a> to dig them out of a self-created hole and were carried by him.</p><p>“I mean, really, all year,” Lonzo Ball said following the win. “That’s Spiderman. He’s our superhero for sure. We need to help him out more.”</p><p>“Can’t really lose this game coming out of the break,” Mitchell added postgame in the locker room. “It’s always about finding spots. I think in the first half, kind of feeling it, and then understanding it’s your time to go and be aggressive. It may not always be shots, but sometimes, being aggressive, getting downhill, creating, and obviously, when shots are falling, continue to shoot.”</p><p>Was his team’s effort what he expected following a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/cleveland-cavaliers/cavs-news-kenny-atkinson-called-out-cleveland-best-players-first-film-study">long layoff with a tough film session</a>? Mitchell pondered it with a lengthy, two-fold response.</p><p>“You’re not always gonna come out and just [dominate right away],” Mitchell said. “As much as you would like that, it’s not how this is just built, right? So understanding there’s positivity in responding ’cause we put ourselves in the position where, after the loss to Golden State, you’re playing a team that’s 3-19, and you’re down 15. You can kind of tuck your tails and say, ‘Alright,’ and give in. But we found a way as a group, as a collective when the shots weren’t necessarily [falling], and we picked it up. That’s the positive. That comes from the five days, from being able to talk to each other honestly. I’m happy about that.</p><p>“On the flip side, that can’t happen, and we can’t be in that position. We’ve had this conversation. This can’t happen. We can’t be in that position, so we have to figure it out. I don’t really have an answer for you. I’m just proud of the response. Keep chipping. As much as we would love for it to be, ‘Alright, we had five days and boom,’ it’s not how it works. Things don’t just happen like that. So this is a good step to learn from, and continue to carry it into [the] Charlotte [game] and continue to carry it on from there. There’s two sides to this. I’m not gonna favor with either. Just continue to stay and keep chipping.”</p><p>Mitchell shared that the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/cleveland-cavaliers/cavs-news-donovan-mitchell-darius-garland-cleveland-crippling-characteristic">Cavs are “stuck in mud”</a> right now and they’ll have to find a way to get out of it. He immediately pointed to positives like Evan Mobley and De’Andre’s rebounding fight, Darius Garland’s fourth-quarter with getting downhill, Ball and Craig Porter Jr. getting into gaps defensively, Dean Wade playing in the half roll, and Jaylon Tyson keeping his eyes open as a playmaker.</p><p>“Everybody has a part,” Mitchell said. “And that’s where we use it to uplift, as opposed to saying, ‘D***, we didn’t do this.’ No, let’s uplift and go from there.”</p><p>Cleveland started the final period with a four-guard lineup around Mobley, which quickly turned the tide out of the gate. It was Mitchell, Garland, Ball, and Porter who put pressure on the ball, forced Washington turnovers, and got the wine and gold moving in transition.</p><p>“Defensively, we set a tone,” Mitchell said. “There was a wall. There wasn’t no easy drives, we were competing on the boards, getting steals, getting deflections. That’s what turned the energy up. I think [Porter] and Lonzo really set that tone for us in the fourth quarter, and you stick with it. It ended up winning us the game. That’s huge. Obviously, I do what I do, Ev does what he does, but those guys are high, high value.”</p><p>“Our defensive intensity, I think that turned it around for us,” Ball added. “We started getting some easy baskets, started to get turnovers, and play with a lot more energy, I feel like. That all carried over from the whole fourth, and we ended up coming back and getting a win.”</p><p>Atkinson credited Cavs assistant Johnnie Bryant for his plea to put Porter in the game.</p><p>“I wasn’t gonna put CP in,” Atkinson said. “He was like, ‘Put CP in. Listen to me.’ That was a great call by Johnnie. I thought that kinda changed the game. He got some steals and the rebounds. You know, CP has had a couple of those games this year where it feels like he comes in, changes the spirit, shifts the energy of the game. He was our sparkplug [Friday].”</p><p>Ball was a plus-26 in the box score despite only going 1-of-6 in the contest, but that one was a critical triple make to get Cleveland within a point at the 2:58 mark on a bullet pass from Garland.</p><p>“I know the player,” Atkinson said. “I know it’s gonna turn. It started to turn [Friday]. But really, where he was stellar, it was his defense. That was the real reason we wanted him in the game. He’s an elite defender in this league, and he gets in there and he rebounds. We needed him [Friday], needed a big game from him. We had some other guys struggling.”</p><p>The ball was touching the paint, which had to happen after the Cavs had taken – and missed – a lot of 3s. From there, they saw it go through the net and upped their intensity, which trickled to the rest of the team for the remainder of the period.</p><p>This wasn’t the best look for Cleveland following a long layover, but at the very least, it resulted in a win against a team the wine and gold couldn’t afford to lose to.</p><p>Thank goodness for the wine and gold’s friendly neighborhood SpidaMan.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

‘Superhero’ Donovan Mitchell explodes with 48 points as Cavs escape with win vs. Wizards

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/cleveland-cavaliers/cavs-news-donovan-mitchell-darius-garland-cleveland-crippling-characteristic');   ga('set', 'title', 'Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland call attention to Cavs’ crippling characteristic');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Golden-State-Warriors-at-Cleveland-Cavaliers.jpg"><figcaption>Ken Blaze-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland call attention to Cavs’ crippling characteristic</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-12-07T07:06:28-08:00">December 7th, 7:06am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-12-07T07:06:28-08:00">December 7th, 7:06am</time><address><a href="https://spindavies.myportfolio.com/home">Spencer Davies</a>Spencer Davies has covered the NBA and the Cleveland Cavaliers as a credentialed reporter for over a decade. His work has appeared on Basketball News, Sports Illustrated, Bleacher Report, USA Today, FOX Sports, HoopsHype, CloseUp360, FanSided, and Basketball Insiders, among others. In addition to his journalistic experience, he has been a senior editor, a digital production assistant, a social media manager, a sports radio anchor, and a producer.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cleveland Cavaliers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/cleveland-cavaliers/cavs-news-aside-mental-test-cleveland-must-meet-demanding-challenge">Cleveland Cavaliers continue to take one step forward and two steps back</a>. Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland wasted little time pinpointing the most maddening characteristic of the Cavs after their disheartening 99-94 loss to a Golden State Warriors team that was down nine players.</p><p>“We get down, and then we start playing,” Mitchell said in the locker room postgame. “There’s no switch to flip. Until there’s a change in that, we’re going to keep being in these positions where sometimes we do, sometimes we don’t, and we have to fix it. Until we decide on a consistent basis to be that group, we’re going to run into inconsistency… yeah.”</p><p>“Gotta play hard for 48 minutes,” Garland added. “Play with some intensity. Play with some energy.”</p><p>While Mitchell credited the short-handed Warriors — particularly <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/golden-state-warriors/warriors-news-steve-kerr-dub-pat-spencer-that-motherfer-upset-over-cavs">Pat Spencer and Quinten Post</a> — for coming to play down bodies, he knows the wine and gold have to be better.</p><p>“We’re gonna figure it out one day,” Mitchell said, exasperated. “Can’t keep getting in this position. Shouldn’t come down to it. All the things we’ve done and shown, we do it in spurts, and that’s what’s rough. We just have to figure out how to go out there on a consistent basis.”</p><p>Mitchell pointed out<a href="https://www.youtube.com/shorts/KwKB9UMzW1c" rel="noopener"> how the Cavs closed the half and started the third quarter</a>, which gave Golden State confidence. That’s not the first time that’s happened.</p><p>Remember, too, that this is a Cleveland bunch that just scored 130 points in a win over the San Antonio Spurs the night before, only to put up 94 points on a putrid 37-of-107 shooting performance from the field the next contest. Outside of Mitchell, the wine and gold went 3 of 28 from long distance.</p><p>“I mean, it’s deflating when you’re missing shots. Like, it’s deflating,” Cleveland head coach Kenny Atkinson said. “I don’t know who would be joyful in that situation. It’s just tough. I think we kept it together on the bench and [were] encouraging and [saying] keep competing. We had [24] offensive rebounds. I know a lot of that is ’cause we missed a lot of shots, but I thought, ‘We’re trying, we’re fighting.’ It’s like, we could not get over the hump.</p><p>The most perplexing aspect of this particular game was how the Cavs outrebounded Golden State by 15 and also got as many shots in the paint as they did Friday. The problem is that they made 28% below their expected field goal percentage on those easy looks.</p><p>“I’m not going to fault our effort or our spirit or any of that,” Atkinson said. “Name of the game is putting the ball in the basket at the end of the day… Got to put it in the hole.”</p><p>Even with a better offensive process and despite holding Golden State under 100 points on 38.4% shooting, the consensus takeaway was that the defense still needed improvement.</p><p>“It’s coming together, but it’s the opposite side of the ball for us,” Garland said. “Gotta bring some energy on that side of the ball. I guess it’s difficult for us. Gotta talk a little bit more, bring some energy on the defensive side of the ball.”</p><p>Mitchell believes that it starts with better communication, intensity, getting on the glass, and running the fastbreak. Garland feels like it’s as simple as energy, spirit, and “a will.”</p><p>“When you’re not making shots like that, you’ve gotta get more stops,” Atkinson said. ” It was okay-to-good, but it wasn’t great. We had a fair amount of breakdowns. We’re going for shot fakes at the rim. They weren’t effort things. They were more like focus, cognitive-like mishaps. So, we had to be more perfect on defense than we were.”</p><p>After splitting their weekend back-to-back, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/cleveland-cavaliers/cavs-news-cleveland-regular-season-big-picture-focus">Cavs will have until Friday to regroup</a> before their matchup with the Washington Wizards in D.C. Sporting a middling 14-11 record, that may be what the doctor ordered.</p><p>“It’s a reset, obviously,” Mitchell said. “When we come back, we’ve gotta be rocking and ready to go.”</p><p>“It’s fixable,” Garland added. “Get some rest. Get in the gym. Create some energy for next game.”</p><p>Atkinson senses that Cleveland needs this kind of break to exhale and get some practice time.</p><p>“Schedule is gonna ease up, and we’ll get back on track,” Atkinson said. “But this is a good reset. It gives us time to get some guys healthy, right? Anytime you can buy days in the NBA, guys can heal up a little bit.”</p><p>“Use these four days and get better,” Mitchell added. “That’s it.”</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland call attention to Cavs’ crippling characteristic

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/cleveland-cavaliers/cavs-news-donovan-mitchell-gets-brutally-honest-ugly-loss-blazers-cleveland-scuffles');   ga('set', 'title', 'Cavs’ Donovan Mitchell gets brutally honest on ugly loss to Blazers as Cleveland scuffles');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Mitchell.jpg"><figcaption>Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Cavs’ Donovan Mitchell gets brutally honest on ugly loss to Blazers as Cleveland scuffles</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-12-04T08:43:15-08:00">December 4th, 8:43am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-12-04T08:43:15-08:00">December 4th, 8:43am</time><address><a>Rohan Brahmbhatt</a>Rohan Brahmbhatt is an adventure-driven sports writer, passionate footballer, mountaineer, and photojournalist. Rohan blends firsthand experience with storytelling—capturing the intensity of sport and the thrill of exploration. Whether on the field, a mountain trail, or behind the lens, he brings authentic, high-energy narratives that connect readers to the heart of the action.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cleveland Cavaliers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Cleveland Cavaliers pride themselves on toughness, defensive identity, and continuity. But after Wednesday night’s 122-110 loss to the struggling Portland Trail Blazers, the tone shifted,<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/cleveland-cavaliers/cavs-news-kenny-atkinson-texted-donovan-mitchell-43-points-pacers"> and Donovan Mitchell didn’t sugarcoat it.</a></p><p>Mitchell, who finished with 33 points in the defeat, delivered a message that was equal parts blunt and measured, a reflection of growing frustration amid a critical stretch of inconsistency.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/cleveland-cavaliers/cavs-news-thomas-bryant-tenacious-consolation-prize-cleveland-loss-blazers">The Cavs, now 13-10, have dropped four of their last five,</a> and Wednesday marked their first loss this season to a team with a losing record.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">“Take this on the chin.” </p><p>Donovan Mitchell’s assessment of the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cavs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cavs</a> right now is telling. Frustration coupled with being grounded, disappointment coupled with understanding the reality of where things currently stand and will go. Balanced as always. <a href="https://t.co/bmU7LEm8AV">pic.twitter.com/bmU7LEm8AV</a></p><p>— Spencer Davies (@SpinDavies) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpinDavies/status/1996486910332772774?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 4, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>“Take this on the chin,” Mitchell said postgame. “The league changes every year, teams get better, trends shift, and nothing is guaranteed. We’ve got to adjust. It’s still early, but we need to come back with urgency.”</p><p>That urgency was visibly lacking for long stretches against Portland.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/cleveland-cavaliers/cavs-news-donovan-mitchell-joins-stephen-curry-in-historic-nba-club-in-win-vs-pacers">Despite Mitchell and Evan Mobley combining for 56 points,</a> Mobley contributing 23 points and 10 rebounds, the Cavs struggled with defensive breakdowns and inconsistent intensity.</p><p>Portland shot 34-of-39 from the free-throw line, with Deni Avdija torching Cleveland for <a href="https://www.espn.in/nba/boxscore/_/gameId/401810179" rel="noopener">27 points,</a> and reserves Caleb Love and Shaedon Sharpe adding 20 each.</p><p>For a team that ranked near the top of the league defensively a year ago, the performance was especially puzzling.</p><p>“We weren’t disciplined, and we let them dictate,” Mitchell added. “That can’t happen, not at home, not against teams we should beat.”</p><p>Cleveland entered the season with elevated expectations after last year’s playoff breakthrough. But with injuries early in the schedule and fluctuating defensive effort, consistency has been elusive.</p><p>Mitchell, however, made it clear panic isn’t part of the equation; accountability is.</p><p>“We’ll respond. We have to,” he said. “This is part of it, growth, adversity, figuring out who we are. But tonight? We take it on the chin, and we learn from it.”</p><p>For now, the Cavaliers remain a work in progress, talented, competitive, but searching for rhythm.</p><p>And as Mitchell emphasized Wednesday night, the next stretch will reveal whether this group can evolve or stall.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Cavs’ Donovan Mitchell gets brutally honest on ugly loss to Blazers as Cleveland scuffles

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/news/cavs-news-how-donovan-mitchell-kenny-atkinsons-unprecedented-demand-pacers-game');   ga('set', 'title', 'How Cavs’ Donovan Mitchell fulfilled Kenny Atkinson’s unprecedented demand in Pacers game');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.cavsnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Donovan-Mitchell.jpg"><figcaption>Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>How Cavs’ Donovan Mitchell fulfilled Kenny Atkinson’s unprecedented demand in Pacers game</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-12-02T09:29:20-08:00">December 2nd, 9:29am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-12-02T09:29:20-08:00">December 2nd, 9:29am</time><address><a>Jackson Stone</a>Jackson Stone is a Mercer University senior from Atlanta on track to graduate with a BA in communications. A lifelong sports lover, Jackson joined ClutchPoints and Cavs Nation in 2023.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cavs News</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>On Monday evening, the Cleveland Cavaliers picked up a much-needed road win <a href="https://cavsnation.com/news/cavs-news-shocking-loss-pacers-highlighted-insane-stat">over the Indiana Pacers</a> to end their losing streak and get back in the win column. The Cavs were led by 43 points <a href="https://cavsnation.com/news/cavs-news-donovan-mitchell-sits-in-stunned-silence-heartbreaking-loss-to-celtics">from Donovan Mitchell</a> in this game, continuing his torrid pace on the 2025-26 season and helping Cleveland knock off the team that eliminated them in last year’s semifinal series.</p><p>After the game, it was revealed that his big scoring night <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/cleveland-cavaliers/cavs-news-kenny-atkinson-texted-donovan-mitchell-43-points-pacers" rel="noopener">was prophesied by</a> none other than Cavs head coach Ken Atkinson.</p><p>“You’ve got to go for 40 tonight,’” Atkinson said, speaking on what he told Mitchell before the game, per Spencer Davies of ClutchPoints. “I’ve never said that to a player. ‘If you take 30 shots, I’m good with it. And if you take five or six bad ones, we’re good with it.’ I’ve never said that to him or any player, but he felt it, I felt it; we needed him tonight. Just had to get a W.”</p><p>“We’re asking a lot of him. Without him, how many wins do we have?” Atkinson added. “We have to ask ourselves that question. Everybody talks about the great players in this league; this guy is one of ’em. Top five, you could say whatever you want.”</p><p>While most pundits and fans would not have Mitchell in their top five, he’s still been hooping at an elite level for the Cavs all year, keeping the team above water even while Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley continue to perform well below expectations, and as Darius Garland goes in and out of the lineup due to injury.</p><p>In any case, next up for the Cavs is a home game against the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday evening. That contest is slated to begin at 7:00 pm ET.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

How Cavs’ Donovan Mitchell fulfilled Kenny Atkinson’s unprecedented demand in Pacers game

Ja Morant

Draymond Green

Jimmy Butler III

Trae Young

Donovan Mitchell

D'Angelo Russell

Jayson Tatum

Jeremy Lin

Joel Embiid

Devin Booker

1x All Star

3x All Star

2022-23 All-NBA

2017-18 All-Rookie

2x All Star

4x All Star

5x All Star

6x All Star

2x All-NBA

Utah Jazz

Cleveland Cavaliers

Career

3 seasons

5 seasons

https://twitter.com/spidadmitchell/status/1651316991850868738/

https://twitter.com/spidadmitchell/status/1649529486923255809/

https://twitter.com/spidadmitchell/status/1648424796584280065/

https://twitter.com/spidadmitchell/status/1647307292805591041/

https://twitter.com/spidadmitchell/status/1643342775734157314/

https://twitter.com/spidadmitchell/status/1642634734424453120/

https://twitter.com/spidadmitchell/status/1640818024348372992/

https://twitter.com/spidadmitchell/status/1640059568054054914/

2025-26 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
30.8	5.0	5.3	0.4	1.4

2025-26 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
30.8	5.0	5.3	0.4	1.4

Donovan
Mitchell

Latest Donovan Mitchell News

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How Cavs’ Donovan Mitchell fulfilled Kenny Atkinson’s unprecedented demand in Pacers game

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