Donovan Mitchell Reached Big Milestone in Cavs Win Over Hawks

There were questions about whether Donovan Mitchell would suit up against the Atlanta Hawks.

Having injured his ankle in the win over the Indiana Pacers, Mitchell sat out the Cavs’ game against the Memphis Grizzlies, leading to thoughts about the All-Star guard continuing his rest period ahead of the playoffs.

Mitchell answered those questions emphatically, blasting the Hawks with 31 points, seven rebounds and four assists in the Cavaliers’ 122-116 victory on Wednesday. Evan Mobley tied a career-high with 19 boards to go with his 22 points.

New milestone unlocked for Mitchell

Mitchell has certainly enjoyed playing against Atlanta this season, with his third straight 30-point game or more. But he reached a landmark milestone with his latest scoring outburst. In his fourth year with the Cavs, it was his 200th regular-season game where he scored 20 points or more.

He becomes only the fifth player in franchise history to achieve such a feat, and he needed a strong second half where he scored 17 points in the third and fourth quarter to get the job done.

Mitchell on what changed in 3Q, second half:

"Staying with it. Just getting to the paint -- myself trying to be aggressive, Evan trying to be aggressive, doing the little things. ... The biggest thing is we stayed with it mentally, and that's all it took." pic.twitter.com/pMORJLUuzf
— RealCavsFans.com (@realcavsfans) April 9, 2026

“Just getting to the paint, trying to myself, trying to be aggressive, Evan [Mobley] trying to be aggressive,” Mitchell said afterwards.

“Doing the little things and understanding that you're not going to blow a team like that up by 20. They’re always going to come back and chip away. The biggest thing is we stay with it mentally, and that's all it took.”

Cleveland dominated the third quarter, outscoring Atlanta 44–20 to build a 104–87 lead heading into the fourth. Dennis Schroder’s three-point play extended the Cavaliers’ advantage to 110–92, but the Hawks responded with an 18–2 surge, fueled by seven points from Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who led the Hawks with 25 points.

A dunk by Kuminga pulled Atlanta within 118–116, and they had a chance to tie after Sam Merrill missed from beyond the arc. However, Alexander-Walker lost control of the ball in the paint, allowing Jarrett Allen to come up with the steal.

Mitchell then sealed the moment by knocking down two free throws, pushing Cleveland’s lead back to more than one possession.

The loss was severe for Atlanta, which had more to gain from winning than the Cavs did. They have now lost their last two after winning four straight. They are one game ahead of the Toronto Raptors for the fifth seed, but only 1.5 games ahead of the Orlando Magic to avoid the play-in tournament.

Cleveland and Atlanta meet again on Friday in a what could very well be a continuation of a preview for the first round of the playoffs.