On the final day of 2022, the Cleveland Cavaliers got a hard-fought 103-102 win over the Chicago Bulls in the Windy City. Two days later, these two Central Division foes played a much different game, albeit with the same outcome.
Cleveland fell behind early in the first quarter, as Chicago scored 34 points on 62 percent shooting. The Bulls built off their strong opening quarter and scored 31 points in the second quarter on 50 percent shooting.
Meanwhile, the Cavaliers struggled to shoot the ball for much of the first half, as they connected on just 6-of-20 from beyond the arc and made 44 percent overall in the opening 24 minutes. Heading into the second half, Cleveland trailed by 18 points, and a lot was going to have to improve for the Cavaliers to avoid a third straight home loss.
The Cleveland Cavaliers were down big against the Chicago Bulls, and then Donovan Mitchell happened.
The message from head coach J.B. Bickerstaff must have been an effective one because Cleveland looked quite different in the third quarter. While the Cavaliers allowed 31 points in the third quarter, their offense started to convert shots they were missing earlier. Overall, Cleveland poured in 44 third-quarter points on 57 percent shooting to cut Chicago’s lead from 18 points to five points.
For much of the fourth quarter, Cleveland kept knocking on the door of gaining the lead but could not break through. Cleveland never officially had the lead in the final quarter but did enough to be in a position to tie the game late. But if it weren’t for a well-executed missed free throw putback by Donovan Mitchell, the Cavaliers would have lost. In the overtime period, Cleveland’s defense held Chicago to just four total points, and the Wine and Gold scored 15 points to get the double-digit overtime victory.
As for the stud of the Bulls game last night, that’s an easy choice.
Stud from OT win over Bulls: Donovan Mitchell
Coming into this first game of 2023, Donovan Mitchell had been in a bit of a slump by his standards, having scored over 20 points in only one of his past four games.
Early on against the Bulls, it looked like Mitchell might have another off night, as he scored just five points on 1-of-4 shooting in the first quarter. Mitchell began to get going in the second quarter as he scored 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting.
However, Mitchell was going to have to take his performance to another level if he was going to help lead the Cavaliers back from an 18-point deficit at the half.
Mitchell did just that in the third quarter, as not only did he shoot 6-of-9 from the floor, he often attacked the basket and was rewarded with 12 free throws, which he made all 12 of to give him 24 points in the quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Mitchell continued his torrid pace of scoring, shooting 7-of-11 and converting a miraculous intentional free throw miss in the final seconds where he grabbed the rebound and put the ball up and in to tie the game.
Mitchell scored 42 points in the second half and was a crucial factor in the Cavaliers’ second-half comeback.
But, Mitchell was far from finished. The sixth-year guard scored 13 of the Cavaliers’ 15 points in the overtime period, including three big-time three-point shots. Even when Donovan stepped to the free throw line late in the overtime period, he knew what was at stake.
We likely won’t see this historic performance topped anytime soon. 71 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists and an unlikely win.
Dud from OT win over Bulls: Cavaliers wings
While it feels wrong to call anyone on the Wine and Gold a “dud” after last night’s comeback win, they are not free from some level of criticism.
Coming into the season, all the talk was about the Cavaliers having four All-Star-caliber players in their starting lineup. However, the one position on the team where there were quite a few question marks was the wing position.
Isaac Okoro and Lamar Stevens are both key members of this Cavaliers squad due to their relentless effort on the defensive end. That said, their contributions on the offensive end aren’t always consistent.
Where wings such as Okoro and Stevens can make their mark on offense is knocking down corner three-point shots. However, this has not been something either one can accomplish consistently.
Okoro is hitting just 24.6 percent from beyond the arc for the season, while Stevens is slightly better at 31.1 percent from three-point range.
Last season Okoro was able to hit 35 percent of his three-point shots, and that 35 percent clip should be the goal for both him and Stevens. The goal is to be a threat from beyond the arc so the defense can’t leave them to help on Mitchell or Garland.
Realistically Okoro and Stevens are both role players on a contending team, and the Cavaliers are likely to need to look for a trade to acquire a starting-caliber wing; the team is reportedly expected to be in the trade market for a wing, too. But for now, they must make do with rotating Stevens and Okoro, and their performances will likely be inconsistent on the offensive end.
The Cavaliers, as a whole, can’t rest on their laurels too long as they have one more home game before embarking on a tough five-game road trip out West, where they will look to improve their road record.