Donovan Mitchell’s Cleveland Cavaliers debut spoiled by Toronto Raptors in 108-105 opening night loss

TORONTO — The Toronto Raptors spoiled Donovan Mitchell’s Cleveland Cavaliers debut.

Inside a lively Scotiabank Arena, with a sellout crowd that was even more amped than usual for the opener, Cleveland’s playoff quest began with a 108-105 loss.

There were plenty of moments throughout the game when Mitchell showed exactly why the Cavaliers acquired him from the Utah Jazz in a trajectory-altering September trade. He helped keep Cleveland’s offense running with All-Star point guard Darius Garland in the locker room because of a nasty eye injury suffered late in the first half.

Mitchell’s brilliance wasn’t enough.

“He’s carried teams on his back, so he understands the moment and he’s capable of it,” Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff said of Mitchell following the loss. “It’s not new. It’s what we expect of him.”

The three-time All-Star scored 31 points on 12 of 21 from the field, 2 of 8 from 3-point range and 5 of 6 from the free-throw line to go with nine assists. But Mitchell went the final 2:27 without a field goal attempt (aside from the last-second prayer when the buzzer sounded), as the scrappy Raptors cranked up the defensive intensity and swarmed Mitchell on every touch — a strategy that wouldn’t have been possible if Garland was available.

Last season, the Cavs wilted without Garland. They were 9.3 points per 100 possessions worse with him off the floor. But Mitchell gave Cleveland a fighting chance, showing one of the major differences in this year’s roster composition and highlighting why everyone inside the organization has been giddy since his arrival.

There were ferocious drives to the basket, explosive finishes in the paint, smooth jumpers and slithery attacks. Mitchell even showed off his deft playmaking skills, accounting for one-third of the team’s assists. The game slipped away in the six second-half minutes when he rested, as the Cavs were outscored 14-6 during those two pivotal stretches. With Mitchell on the floor, Cleveland outscored Toronto by 10 points — the best mark of any Cavaliers player.

“He’s an elite basketball player,” Bickerstaff said of Mitchell. “There’s not many guys in this league that are better than Donovan and are capable of doing the things that he can do. He puts so much pressure on the defense. He has the ability to make all the passes. He’s hard to deal with and he makes defenses have to make tough decisions over and over again.”

Cedi Osman provided a scoring punch off the bench, pouring in 17 points on 6 of 12 from the field and 3 of 6 from beyond the arc. Evan Mobley — in a highly anticipated showdown with the reigning Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes — added 14 points and six rebounds. Jarrett Allen recorded his first double-double of the season, scoring 13 points and grabbing 10 boards.

Toronto and Cleveland are viewed as Eastern Conference playoff contenders. Both looked the part Wednesday night in a chippy matchup that featured 16 lead changes, 17 ties and went down to the final buzzer. What else was expected between two evenly matched teams?

With 16.3 seconds remaining and Cleveland trailing by four points, Mitchell made a pair of free throws, pulling the Cavs within two points. Raptors shooting guard Gary Trent Jr. then split a pair of freebies, giving Cleveland another chance in a one-possession game.

But the Raptors purposely fouled Caris LeVert before the Cavs could get a look at a potential game-tying 3-pointer. LeVert made both. Then Precious Achiuwa’s late-game breakaway dunk extended the margin back to three. Mitchell’s 74-footer missed everything, and the crowd erupted.

Garland finished with four points, three assists and five turnovers in 13 minutes before an inadvertent collision with Trent in the backcourt caused a laceration to the inside of his left eyelid. The young star missed the final 28 minutes.

“We were without one of our weapons,” Mobley told cleveland.com after the loss. “It was tough to overcome. It put a lot of the ball-handling and playmaking responsibility on Donovan. We just couldn’t come up with enough plays late in the game.”

“It’s tough to see him go down like that in a freak accident. Don’t know the full extent. Don’t have news for y’all. But he’s a fighter and he’s a competitor and he’s going to be back strong,” Mitchell said of his backcourt mate. “The one thing about this group is we fought and competed. When one man goes down, the next guy is stepping up. That’s the road to being a really good team. It’s tough, but I’m proud of the way this group responded.”

The Raptors had six players in double figures. Pascal Siakam set the pace with 23 points. Barnes stuffed the stat sheet with 15 points, seven assists, three rebounds and two steals, overcoming foul trouble for most of the night that limited him to 32 minutes. With Barnes on the court, the Raptors were an astonishing plus-20.

Mitchell spoke before the game about his uncontrollable excitement going into Wednesday night. He spent weeks envisioning the emotions when he put the Cavs jersey on for the first time.

It wasn’t the outcome he dreamed about.

Up next

The Cavs will stay on the road for a matchup against the Chicago Bulls on Saturday night. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m.

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