Ditched by Mitch: Knicks' Ex-Target Donovan Mitchell Buries Them in Cleveland
A former member of the Utah Jazz, the object of New York Knicks fans' offseason dreams, has his former favorite team singing the blues as they head back to the Empire State.
Donning the wine and gold of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Donovan Mitchell showed the Knicks exactly what they were missing on Sunday evening, scoring 12 points in the fourth quarter alone in an effort that erased a New York lead that reached as high as nine. Mitchell led all scorers in the weekend-closing showdown with 38 total points, paving the way to Cleveland's 121-108 triumph.
The Knicks (3-3) were led by Jalen Brunson and Evan Fournier with 16 points apiece. New York remains winless on the road in three tries and dropped both halves of a weekend couple on the road that also visited Milwaukee.
In a stark contrast to the loss to the Bucks, the Knicks were able to keep pace with the Cavs despite Brunson going 1-of-7 from the field in the first half. Mitchell broke loose with 17 first half points but his cohort Caris LeVert was held scoreless thanks to some shutdown defense from RJ Barrett. New York trailed 62-59 going into the halftime break.
A rebooted Brunson found his shooting touch in the second half, going 7-for-12, while Barrett, a popular addition to the Mitchell hypotheticals over the summer, likewise enjoyed a strong shooting night at 6-for-10 overall en route to 15 points. Isaiah Hartenstein matched that performance, scoring 12 off the bench. A 34-22 advantage in the third allowed them to take a lead into the final period.
Alas for the metropolitans, however, they were unable to stop a barrage of Cleveland triples: all but four of Mitchell's 12 successful attempts came from beyond the arc, while Kevin Love came off the bench to sink eight of his own in a 29-point effort over 22 minutes off the bench. Mitchell's fellow starter Dean Wade sank six more. The Knicks managed to hit only 10 as a team (37 percent), all but four coming from the hands of Barrett and Fournier.
As Mitchell and Love helped put the Knicks away, Cleveland (5-1) built a lead that went as high as 15 over the final 12 minutes. New York will face the Cavs again on Dec. 4 when Mitchell and Co. make their way to Madison Square Garden.
The Knicks now return home for action on Wednesday night when they take on the Atlanta Hawks at Madison Square Garden (7:30 p.m. ET, MSG).
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
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