The records, the crowd, the 'disaster': Inside Donovan Mitchell's Cavaliers' home debut
CLEVELAND — Donovan Mitchell’s personal tale of atonement concluded with chants of “MVP” filling Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
He knew how fortunate he was to receive such adoration when he stepped to the free throw line to wrap up the Cavaliers’ 117-107 overtime victory over the Washington Wizards Sunday night.
In the final 54 seconds of regulation, the heralded regular-season home debut of the three-time All-Star guard acquired in a blockbuster trade became, in his words, “an absolute disaster.”
The Cavs blew a seven-point lead and Mitchell’s fingerprints were all over it. He missed a floater, committed two turnovers and failed to connect on a potential game-winning step-back 3-pointer with 1.6 seconds left.
But encouraged by Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff and appreciative of the coach’s trust in him, Mitchell bounced back quickly. In the five-minute overtime, he led the Cavs with seven points, including an and-one that gave them the lead for good with 1:43 remaining.
Cavs' Mitchell prioritizes leadership:'Willingness to lead': Cleveland Cavaliers' Donovan Mitchell knows importance of his voice
Cavs' Mitchell raves over talent:'Championship is the goal': Cavaliers' Donovan Mitchell watches budding stars, dreams big
“Going into the summer, there are a lot of things I pride myself on and being a closer, being a guy that you trust with the ball is one of ‘em and I wasn’t that tonight in the fourth,” Mitchell said. “I ultimately ended up getting there…. But sometimes you won’t be able to get to an overtime, you aren’t given a second chance, so you’ve got to be there when your time is called and I wasn’t.
“It doesn’t matter if we had a game yesterday. It doesn’t matter if you’re [on] the back–to-back, I’ve got to be able to do it.”
Afterward during an on-court interview, Mitchell told the fans, “I apologize. I put us in overtime.”
As he entered the interview room, he was saying the same thing in the hallway. Before a question was asked, he said, “I’ll start off, I apologize making you all stay like 35, 45 minutes longer. That was insane, but we got the win.”
Fans forgave him with their chant. His team did the same by awarding him the coveted Junkyard Dawg chain, an idea conceived by Bickerstaff last season to recognize the scrappiest and most impactful player after victories.
“That’s just how he is,” All-Star center Jarrett Allen said of Mitchell’s apology. “He wants to do everything right to the best of his ability. Even when he is doing stuff right, he still feels like he is doing stuff wrong. Shows humility. He wants everyone, not to accept them, but to make sure he is doing the right thing.”
Mitchell was touched to have received the massive chain with a “C” pendant, wearing it during his interview. Backup center Robin Lopez earned it in Saturday night’s victory at Chicago.
“It meant a lot. The guys in the locker room, when I saw Rolo get it, I was like, ‘Oh, this is pretty dope,’” Mitchell said. “For me just to feel a part of the group. They’ve accepted me since Day One. Just to go out there and continuously just find my way, whether it’s offensively, defensively, then to get this, it’s awesome.”
Mitchell said his teammates “continuously uplifted me” during his rough fourth quarter.
Allen said that wasn’t difficult. He said their faith in Mitchell comes from him being “a good dude.”
“That’s what it boils down to,” Allen said. “He is easy to talk to, he doesn’t boast about his accomplishments, he is one of the hardest workers every single game in the gym. It’s easy to root for a guy like that and easy to follow somebody’s lead like that.”
No timetable for Cavs' Garland:Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland misses second consecutive game with eye injury
Cavs' Mobley makes strides:Cleveland Cavaliers' Evan Mobley opens season with 'more of an edge' after award snub
Mitchell spent the previous five seasons with the Utah Jazz and went to the playoffs every year, but said he had similar bad nights there. On Sunday, he scored four points in the fourth quarter, making 2-of-9 shots and missing both his 3-point attempts.
“I’ve had worse fourth quarters and I’ve shot the ball more than 29 times before, too,” he said. “You continuously just find a way. You just trust the work, getting to your spots. I would say maybe early in my career that missed 3, I’ve missed a 3 in the playoffs from that same spot. I’ve been picked before and given up the lead. Even last year we blew some leads in the fourth quarter and I didn’t play well.
“For me, it’s staying focused on the next play and doing it on both ends of the floor and just continue to fight and battle. That’s what I did and that’s what we did as a group. My teammates were right in my ear, just like, ‘Keep going. Keep going. Don’t stop.'"
Mitchell could have taken a 2-pointer to try to win the game in regulation. But he chose the step-back 3, saying, “That’s my favorite move. Whether it’s a 2 or a 3, that’s the one I probably work at the most.
“I thought it was going in. I’m glad I missed it long than short. If I had missed it short, I would have been pretty pissed because that means I’m tired and I didn’t get my legs into it. I thought it was good. It didn’t go in, but I’m going to take it again if I’m open and continue to trust it.”
It was a historic night for Mitchell. He finished with 37 points, five rebounds, four assists, three steals, offset by six turnovers. He became the third player in NBA history to score 30+ points in his first three games with a new team. He joined Wilt Chamberlain, who had eight in a row in 1960 with Philadelphia, and Glenn Robinson, who did the same in three games in his 2002-03 debut with Atlanta.
Mitchell has scored 100 points for the Cavs (2-1), breaking Austin Carr’s record of 90 in the first three games in 1974-75. Of debuting Cavs, Mitchell also stands first, surpassing 72 points by Shawn Kemp in 1997-98.
Cavs face more pressure in 2022-23:Can 2022-23 Cleveland Cavaliers handle being the hunted after Donovan Mitchell's arrival?
Five Cavs to watch this season:Erasing a 'bad taste': Five Cleveland Cavaliers who will most impact the 2022-23 season
“Thirty-seven, that’s tough to come by on any night," Allen said. "Especially the home opener, with the lights on, he showed out."
Bickerstaff was most impressed with Mitchell’s “determination to help the team win.”
“The leadership, the want-to carry his teammates with him, the way he embraces his teammates. It's a needed 37, right? They're not empty 30s that you're seeing from him. We need every one of them," Bickerstaff said as All-Star point guard Darius Garland missed his second consecutive game with an eye injury.
Mitchell enjoyed the experience, saying it felt like a playoff game. The only time he’d heard Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse that loud was when he attended a game in the 2016 Finals.
“When we came out. … that was nuts. Then we had the intro, that was crazy,” he said. “There were segments throughout the game where I caught myself smiling a few times. I’m trying to lock in, but I’m just looking around like, ‘Holy s---.’ The crowd’s electric. It's incredible to be part of that."
Even the crucial turnovers didn’t diminish Mitchell’s performance in Bickerstaff’s eyes because he saw the lessons Mitchell taught with how he recovered.
“He's just got belief. He's got confidence in himself,” Bickerstaff said. “We believe in him, he knows that. His teammates believe in him, he knows that. He's done it before. He's the type of guy that doesn't want to let his teammates down. He took it on himself to make something happen.”
Bickerstaff said that confidence trickles down to the other Cavs.
“It gives them belief, too. It makes them feel like they can overcome the odds because they know that he's there to help carry and take them through adversity,” Bickerstaff said. “They're willing to do more. They've always been a group that's stuck together and fought their way through things and that just adds to it.”
Mitchell’s resilience will be tested, not just how he recovers after playing 79 minutes in a back-to-back as the Cavs host the Orlando Magic on Wednesday.
“By Wednesday I’ll be fine. We won the game, we did the things necessary, but I’ll be better,” Mitchell vowed.
“I’ll be good by Monday Night Football.”
Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MRidenourABJ.
Magic at Cavaliers
Time: 7 p.m. Wednesday
TV: Bally Sports Ohio
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cavs star Donovan Mitchell goes from goat to overtime hero
