All offseason, the New York Knicks were the favorites to land Donovan Mitchell in a trade from the Utah Jazz. However, when it was all said and done, Mitchell was wearing Wine and Gold. The Knicks got their first chance to see what they missed out on Sunday night at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.
Coach J.B. Bickerstaff was glad to have the veteran big man’s presence and sweet shooting on the court to lead to Cavs.
“It was just reading the game and understanding their coverages and figure out how we can create enough space to give him the ball,” said Bickerstaff. “Whenever Donovan or LeVert are handling the ball, those guys are going to demand some attention. When you put Kevin in the pick and roll with those guys and any time they put two on the ball, Kevin's going to find and open look and we tried to manipulate to give Kevin as much space and deliver the ball to him and he knocked them down.”
The Cavaliers hit a snag out of halftime though as the Knicks captured the lead early in the third and the Wine and Gold had to turn to the three-point shot to get back on track. Mitchell, Love, and Dean Wade were happy to lead the way.
“Just trying to find a way to get a shooter in the action,” said Mitchell when breaking down the gameplan against the Knicks. “You gotta respect KLove, he could have 30 but he's a great shooter. Just continuously try to manipulate it, he pops, I drive, someone else like Dean has a shot in the corner. There's just so many ways, so many options when the team's so close in the locker room. We just vibe, we gel, we know we can hold each other accountable, tell each other what you need.”
A foul called on Jarrett Allen as Julius Randall clubbed Allen in the face on the way up to the basket was challenged by Coach J.B. Bickerstaff. After a review in New York, the call was overturned, and Randall was given the offensive foul. A review on a Cedi Osman foul on Jalen Brunson led to an impassioned speech from Bickerstaff to his team as they looked to avoid a 2nd half letdown. However the Knicks lead grew to 85-78 in the 3rd before Mitchell was able to weave through the New York defense for the slam and set up the alley-oop for Evan Mobley to stop the bleeding momentarily. New York still took a 93-84 lead into the 4th quarter.
The fourth quarter started with boom as Mitchell spun through the Knicks defense and still have enough juice to slam over one-time Cavalier Isaiah Hartenstein to bring the Wine and Gold within 6. A four-point play completed by Mitchell while once again being serenaded by “MVP” chants tied the game at 99 for the Wine and Gold.
“The shot-making and the creativity, blended with the explosiveness and the ability to see the floor, if there were 5 or 6 more rounded players in our league, I'd be hard pressed to them all,” said Bickerstaff in regards to his new star guard. “This dude is elite.”
Despite the love for Mitchell, there was still plenty of love for Love as the fountain of youth was flowing as he connected on his 7th three off the bench which resulted in another 4-point play to give the Cavs a 104-101 lead. Mitchell extended the lead a few plays later with another 3 before Kevin Love drew a Julius Randle offensive foul followed by a Dean Wade 3 to grow the Wine and Gold lead even more. Love then put it out of reach with his 8th three and the Cavs took a 117-1105 lead with 1:07 left in the game. When it was all said and done, Mitchell and Love combined for 67 points and 16-26 from behind the arc and 12 assists from "Spida" as the Cavs took down the Knicks 121-108 and Mitchell knows he couldn’t have pulled it off without a lot of Love.
“He's been phenomenal, obviously with 29 tonight, shooting the ball, he's consistent with that but being a leader, being steady, a calming presence on the floor,” said Mitchell. “He's been there, he's been playing games like this 1000 times and he's succeeded, he's won.”
Dean Wade had 22 on 6-8 on 3-pointers while Evan Mobley had 16 points and 7 rebounds, but Kevin Love knows the game would not have been won without a healthy dose of Donovan Mitchell tonight. It’s an effort he’s getting used to seeing from "Spida" in a Wine and Gold jersey.
“He's been amazing, I think what we've asked him to do with DG being out, just the way he goes about his business,” said Love. “On his body, on the court, film work, putting in time with his teammates. I think it's inspiring for all of us to be on the floor with him and want to be better. We already had such a great group, and he just elevates us to another place. He's a guy who has experience, a guy who's a star in this league and been playing some really great basketball right now.”
As for the summertime rumors tying the former Utah star to the Knicks, Donovan Mitchell took the high road when asked if New York regrets not pulling the trigger on a blockbuster trade to land him back in the Big Apple?
“You gotta ask them, I'm happy to be here.”