MVP of the night | Donovan Mitchell activated playoff mode
With the first period ending with 8 points on 4/9 shooting, Donovan Mitchell He probably wasn’t the favorite for the MVP honors of the night. But that was one quarter ago where he became a specialist, capable of breaking down defenses in mere minutes. That’s what the back end accomplished to further secure the win for his Cavaliers on the Philadelphia floor.
The Cavaliers started well at the break, after a very good first quarter. With a 13-point lead, the Ohio team was left at the mercy of a Sixers run that could have started everything. This was without counting Donovan Mitchell and his terrifying talent on offense.
Rather, a distributor in the first period of doc Darius Garland etc Evan Mobley fueled the score, the All-Star guard took control of operations with 10 points in 2 minutes, 19 seconds to extend Cleveland’s lead to 18 points, their largest at that point in the game.
A sense of timing
« Donovan was outstanding tonight » I like it Kenny Atkinson at the press conference. « The Sixers protected the racket in the first period, and spread the game wide. When he does that, it’s hard to stop us. Then in the second period, they opened up the defense more and he spent time in their racket. Donovan set the tone. »
And he didn’t stop with this first series. A quick stint on the bench and back: first 3-point shot seconds after his return to the game and ten new units in… 2 minutes and 19 seconds again!
His 20 points on 6-of-10 shooting, including 4-of-7 from beyond the arc in the third quarter, knocked off the Sixers, an opponent the Cavaliers will face again on Friday in Pennsylvania.
Darius Garland on the side
« Our Monday night loss against Utah after our great win against Minnesota was really frustrating » responded “Spida”. « The most important thing we came to is to set the tone knowing that we are playing the Sixers back-to-back, a little bit in the spirit of a playoff series. » Context loved by Donovan Mitchell, the seventh-best scoring average in NBA history in the late stages.
« It was great tonight, at both ends of the court » he added in the reported comments couple cleveland.com. « It’s a very good team up front. But we have to do it on Friday as well. There’s that playoff atmosphere. You win the first game on the road and you have to do it again in Game 2. We have to be ready and keep doing what we’re doing. »
This will undoubtedly be without Darius Garland, injured in the same third quarter in which Donovan Mitchell caught fire. Without his assistant, the latter could repeat this type of performance.
2026-01-15 07:28:00
