Donovan Mitchell’s nightmarish Game 4 puts Cavs in deep 3-1 series hole following 102-93 loss

NEW YORK — Cavs star Donovan Mitchell had dreams of one day playing at Madison Square Garden in the playoffs.

They turned into a nightmare.

Cleveland lost Game 4 to the New York Knicks on Sunday afternoon, 102-93. With back-to-back losses in the Big Apple, the Cavs have been pushed to the brink of elimination, trailing the best-of-seven series 3-1.

Mitchell, the native New Yorker acquired this offseason for a haul of draft picks and young players, was brought to Cleveland for moments like Sunday afternoon: Cavs with their backs against the wall. Hostile environment. Essentially a must-win game. On the road. Bright lights. Big stage.

With more than 40 playoff appearances in his career, Mitchell was supposed to be the steady supernova to lift the young Cavs into a different galaxy.

But on Sunday afternoon, Mitchell fell short, delivering his worst performance of the season.

Mitchell finished with just 11 points on 5-of-18 shooting, including 0 of 4 from 3-point range to go with more turnovers (6) than assists (5) in 42 horrifying minutes.

Without Mitchell’s usual offensive exploits, the Cavs once again struggled to generate enough at that end of the floor, being held below the 100-point threshold for the third time in the first four games of the series.

It seemed like All-Star backcourt mate Darius Garland was in the midst of a similar no-show. Garland had more fouls than points in the first half. The Cavs trailed by 15 at one point in a game where they lacked playoff-level focus and intensity for most of it. But Garland started igniting in the second half — and the Cavs followed.

Garland accounted for the first 14 Cavs points of the third quarter and 22 of the first 24, as Cleveland surged in front for the first time all afternoon at the 6:27 mark of the third on a Garland alley-oop to center Jarrett Allen.

Despite that Garland-led push, the Cavs trailed by two going into the fourth quarter.

They were outscored 29-22 in the final 12 minutes. Mitchell tallied just two points while missing three of his four shots.

New York was led by guard Jalen Brunson. He scored 29 points. RJ Barrett chipped in with 26. Josh Hart, making a spot start in place of injured youngster Quentin Grimes, added 19 points and seven boards.

Mitchell has carried the Cavs throughout the season. He was integral to their best campaign of the post-LeBron James era.

But he fell short on Sunday. And now the Cavs are one loss from their first postseason run since 2018 ending in disappointment.

Up next

The Cavs will head back home for Game 5 on Wednesday night. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.

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