Donovan Mitchell leading Cavs into next chapter without LeBron James
CLEVELAND — Years ago, before he reached the NBA, Donovan Mitchell used to watch LeBron James play on TV. He’d yell at the screen when something big would happen, he’d cheer, he’d watch James do things on a basketball court only a few before him ever could.
During the first quarter of Tuesday night’s game against James’ Los Angeles Lakers, he stood off to the side while the Cavs showed a highlight reel of the Akron-born star from Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals, which drew a thunderous ovation after mentioning the Cavs’ title.
And later that night, during the fourth quarter, as James watched but couldn’t stop, Mitchell took over the game. He sent the crowd into a frenzy. He garnered M-V-P chants at the foul line. He poured in 43 points, with 29 of them coming in a second-half flurry while the Cavs pulled away en route to a 116-102 win.
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It was the type of performance Cavs fans had come to expect from James, who turns 38 later this month, during his two stretches in Cleveland. But this time, it wasn’t No. 23 drawing the ovation and strutting around the floor during moments of being unstoppable. It was No. 45.
In that way, it was a celebration of duality Tuesday night at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. The Cleveland crowd gave James a standing ovation during the first quarter, an acknowledgement of the title he helped to bring to the city, its first in 52 years. But the fourth quarter, and the many roars of the crowd that came with it, belonged to Mitchell, the franchise’s new No. 1, the team’s next hope to reach the top of the basketball world.
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“It doesn’t matter who it is, you always want to spoil the homecoming,” Mitchell said. “That’s just the competitor in you, you always want to do that. But I said it to the guys in the huddle, it’s gonna be a lot going on. There’s gonna be cheers at the free throw for him, there’s gonna be boos for him, there’s gonna be cheers for us, there’s gonna be so much emotion, and at the end of the day, we just gotta play 48 minutes of our basketball.”