Mitchell threw down a jam over Kornet. It was 0: 30.
After giving up 75 points to the Boston Celtics in the first half of Friday night's game, the Cleveland Cavaliers had a clear choice to make.
"After the way we played in the first half, we could have sat down and prepared for the Knicks," Bickerstaff said.
That wasn't done by the Cavs. Instead, they rode a pair of massive performances from their backcourt of Donovan Mitchell and Caris LeVert -- each of whom poured in 41 points -- to pull off a comeback from trailing by 13 at the break to leadCleveland to a 132-123 overtime victory over the Celtics
Mitchell and LeVert scored at least 40 points in a game for the first time. Is that the other ones? The first of three straight wins that led Cleveland to its lone NBA championship came in Game 5 of the 2016 NBA Finals, when James and Irving defeated the Golden State Warriors.
This game didn't have the same significance as the one before it, but it was still a signature victory for the team that is still coming together after making a blockbuster deal to acquire Mitchell.
Mitchell said that they are farther than they expected. I'm not saying we are flawless. There are some things we can work on. There are positive things. We'll take this win but there are always ways to improve.
Heading into the game with the Celtics, there was plenty of room for improvement for LeVert, who came into the night shooting just 3-for-26 on 2-point shots. It wouldn't have been possible to know that he'd been struggling based on how he played in this one, as he and Mitchell went shot for shot with Boston's dynamic wing tandem of Jaylen Brown and Aron Baynes.
It was LeVert, though, and not any of the three All-Star perimeter players, who slammed the door on this one, scoring the final 11 points for the Cavaliers to close out overtime.
LeVert came to the podium with a giant gold chain with an oversized Cleveland logo on it, signifying his selection as the team's "Junk Yard Dog" of the game.
"My teammates and my coaching staff have unbelievable belief in me to just keep going," LeVert said, in explaining how he was able to shake off his slow start to the season. This is the best start I've had so far. It has been strange. I don't want to get too down on myself. The other parts of the game are played by me. I think that's one of the reasons I'm still in the game.
After the Celtics put up 75 points in the first half, it was their most since 2007, when they scored 77 against the Denver Nuggets in the NBA Championship.
Cleveland held Boston to 39 points in the second half and held Tatum to eight points in the second half and overtime after he scored 24 points in the first 24 minutes.
Both of those guys made some tough shots in the fourth quarter and overtime. We can live with some that we gave them multiple possessions with. The ones that hurt you the most are those. They had a great night. They did a great job. They hit things.
Over the past 48 hours or so, Brown has been asked about his new school, Donda Academy, which he opened earlier this year. Brown said this week that he would no longer be associated with Donda Sports.
He wants to make sure the kids are taken care of in the future.
"I'm focused on Donda Sports and those kids right now," Brown said. The kids don't have anything to do with what's happening. They don't deserve to have their season end or school year shortened because of the actions of other people. I've been trying to get resources together to prevent that from happening. People see a headline and feel like they know what's going on.
I spent a lot of time with Donda and her family. They are guilty of trying to get ahead in life. There are many opportunities and resources that were designed into that curriculum. I think it's a school with kids, with parents, with teachers that have names and faces that I got to work with. I don't see that situation the same way. I'm going to use my platform to make sure those kids get what they're promised.
A lot is happening, but I think the line is drawn. I have been focused on education my entire career. My track record can be checked. I will continue to fight for those kids in neighborhoods that don't have a lot of people fighting for them. It's a lot of opportunities and resources for a lot of kids. I don't want to keep you here all night, but these kids have nothing to do with what's happening.
Everybody knows everything about a situation, but I spent time there. I see a lot of great people. I'm going to try to make sure that everything that's promised to them in the future is reachable.
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