Donovan Mitchell scored 35 points as the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers never trailed and fended off a late comeback try in a 131-124 victory over the Brooklyn Nets Friday night in New York.
Mitchell shot 10-of-15 and sank six treys after misfiring on seven of nine 3-point tries Wednesday against the New York Knicks. The Cavaliers led by as many as 25 and held a double-digit lead until midway through the fourth.
Jarrett Allen added 22 against his former team and Sam Merrill also contributed 22 as the Cavaliers shot 53.7% from the floor and converted 18 from outside the arc. Reserve Craig Porter Jr. chipped in 14 and Evan Mobley finished with 13.
Cam Thomas scored 33 points on 12-of-23 shooting for the Nets, who shot 51.6%. Michael Porter Jr. added 31 and Ziaire Williams contributed 25 off the bench as the duo combined to net 11 of Brooklyn’s 19 treys.
Cleveland took a 108-86 lead into the fourth and struggled when Mitchell sat. Mitchell went to the bench with 9:01 remaining and the Cavs holding a 114-98 lead.
When he returned with 6:06 left, the Nets were within 118-112 after Thomas converted a 3-point play. Williams countered Mitchell’s 3-ball to get the Nets within 121-115 with 5:18 left and rookie Egor Demin’s 3 cut the deficit to 121-120 with 3:48 remaining.
But the Nets missed their next five shots until Thomas converted a layup with 12.5 seconds left to make it 127-122 and four free throws by Merrill in the final 7.1 seconds iced the game.
Cleveland capitalized on nine Brooklyn turnovers, shot 61.9% and held a 34-23 lead through the opening quarter. Three free throws by Mitchell put Cleveland up 49-32 a little over two minutes into the second and the Cavaliers held a 63-51 lead by halftime.
Merrill sank two trifectas in the opening 80 seconds of the third for a 72-51 lead and Mitchell’s triple opened an 83-58 bulge with 8:14 left. Nic Claxton converted consecutive layups in a 14-3 run to cut the margin to 86-72 with 5:22 left and the Cavs withstood a barrage by Thomas (13 3rd quarter points) in the final minutes to take a comfortable lead into the fourth.
