WASHINGTON — Where would the Cavs be without Donovan Mitchell?
It’s a question Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson has asked rhetorically numerous times this season.
The answer on Friday night: rock bottom.
Mitchell’s heroics saved Cleveland from its latest potential morale-zapping loss, as it rallied in the fourth quarter for a 130-126 victory.
As he has done so many times this season, Mitchell put the Cavaliers on his brawny shoulders and led a superhuman turnaround, erasing a one-time 17-point deficit.
Mitchell scored 35 points in the second half. Twenty-four in the fourth quarter — the second-most in a fourth quarter by any Cavalier since 1997-98. Finished with a game-high 48 on 17 of 31 from the field and 8 of 15 from 3-point range. When it was all over, Mitchell told a pair of mouthy fans behind Cleveland’s bench to exit the arena, as the Cavs outscored the Wizards, 45-26, in the fourth quarter, snatching away a victory they probably didn’t deserve.
“We found Donovan Mitchell or Donovan Mitchell found us; however you want [to put it],” Atkinson said after the game. “It was one of the best performances I’ve seen.”
On Tuesday, during the team’s mini break in the schedule, the Cavs held an uncomfortable film session in which Atkinson held the best players accountable and called out the team for a lack of consistent effort and focus.
That was a problem once again Friday night — from the opening tip.
Three-win Washington made its first four shots and seven of the first 10, forcing Atkinson to call timeout at the 6:57 mark of the first quarter.
Time for another meeting?
Cleveland temporarily turned up the intensity, holding the Wizards scoreless over the final 3:41 of the first quarter and using a 14-0 run during that stretch to build an 11-point lead — the first double-digit advantage by either team.
But the Wizards responded with a 9-2 surge to open the second quarter.
By halftime, it was only a two-point Cleveland lead.
The young, hungry Wizards came out of the locker room scoring 14 of the first 16 points while building a 10-point advantage, their biggest of the night at the time. It increased to 17 at the 1:22 mark of the third quarter.
The Cavs, favored by 14.5 points entering the game, were down by 15 going into the fourth. They seemed headed for another inexplicable and demoralizing defeat against one of the NBA’s bottom-feeders.
That’s when Atkinson, with an assist from right-hand man Johnnie Bryant, turned to a never-been-used lineup — Craig Porter Jr., Darius Garland, Lonzo Ball, Evan Mobley and Mitchell.
Four guards and one big. Speed. Quickness. Scrappiness. Playmaking. Shooting.
That group ignited a 12-2 spurt, cutting the Washington advantage to five with 10:12 remaining.
Two minutes later, it was a one-possession game. The Washington lead was just one with 8:11 left — until the Wizards regained their composure and buried back-to-back 3s to go back in front by seven.
The Cavs kept applying pressure, cutting the lead to one again with less than three minutes left on a rare Ball made triple.
Then Mitchell’s long-range bomb tied the game at the 2:14 mark. He put Cleveland in front — for good — on a driving layup with a minute left. Shortly after, Mitchell battled for an offensive rebound, tied up Marvin Bagley III and won the jump, earning a pair of free throws for Ball.
What didn’t Mitchell do Friday night?
“Can’t really lose this game coming out of the break,” Mitchell said pointedly. “There’s positivity in responding. We put ourselves in a position where after the loss against Golden State and playing against a team that is 3-and-whatever and we are down 15, you can kind of tuck your tail and kind of give in. But we found a way as a group, as a collective. That’s a positive. That comes from the five days off and being able to talk to each other honestly.
“But that can’t happen. We can’t be in that position. We have had this conversation. We have to figure it out. I don’t have an answer for you. We are going to have to keep chipping. But I’m proud of the response.”
Mobley added 23 points and 13 rebounds, his fourth straight double-double. Garland tallied 18 points despite missing his first six shots and going just 6 of 17 from the field, including 0 of 11 from beyond the arc.
The Wizards were led by CJ McCollum who had 27 points on 9 of 20 shooting — even though he was limited to just four points on 1 of 8 in the fourth quarter. McCollum also missed a pair of critical free throws that gave Cleveland late life.
“Lonzo was a big part of that,” Atkinson said of stifling McCollum. “We tried to stick Lonzo on CJ. He’s a hell of a defender. No one else had success. Tried Jaylon [Tyson] on him. Tried Dean [Wade]. He is too quick for those guys. Zo could kind of keep up with him and use his length and get contests.”
As Mitchell walked off the court, he was greeted by a section of boisterous Cavs fans who were waiting patiently long after the final buzzer sounded.
MVP, MVP, MVP.
He was Cleveland’s again Friday night. Has been all season.
That wasn’t about a transformative film session. It wasn’t about the Cavs raising — and meeting — a new standard. It wasn’t about a team solving its myriad problems. It wasn’t about a five-day wake-up call.
It was about Mitchell’s otherworldly brilliance.
Without him, the Cavs — a supposed title contender —would have lost to one of the league’s worst teams and this mercurial season would have reached a new low.
“He’s our superhero for sure,” Ball said of Mitchell. “We need to help him out more. He has been amazing all year. Just another game in the books for him.”
Up next
The Cavs will host the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday afternoon. Tipoff is set for 3:30 p.m.