Donovan Mitchell scored 40 points, Evan Mobley added 17 points and a career-high 19 rebounds, and the Cleveland Cavaliers finished pool play at the NBA In-Season Tournament with a 128-105 victory over the Hawks from Atlanta Tuesday evening.
The Cavs finished 3-1 and in second place in East Group A. They needed to win to have a chance at a wild card, but it took four other teams to lose and ultimately failed to advance by point differential.
Still, the Cavs are healthy and Mitchell turned in his best performance (14 of 25, 11 rebounds) in weeks and did it in a meaningful game — by regular season standards.
Cleveland’s Darius Garland added 19 points.
De’Andre Hunter scored 18 for the Hawks, who went 1-3 in the tournament. Trae Young added 13 on 3-of-14 shooting and had 10 assists.
Mitchell has made just 8 of 35 from the field in his last two games after missing four straight games with a hamstring strain.
He started slowly again before hitting a 3-pointer from 41 feet at the buzzer to end the first quarter. Although the basket was ruled out, the shot seemed to spark Mitchell, who scored 10 points in the second half to help the Cavs erase a 12-point deficit.
Cleveland went on a 17-2 run capped by Mobley’s 3-pointer and a Mitchell pass to take a 64-61 halftime lead.
The Cavs pushed their lead to 15 in the third quarter before the Hawks used a 13-2 spurt to get within 90-85.
But Georges Niang made a 3-pointer and Garland knocked down two in the final minute to put Cleveland ahead 102-90 heading into the fourth.
Trailing by 20 points, Atlanta coach Quin Snyder pulled his starters with 3:54 remaining. However, Cavs coach JB Bickerstaff stuck with his first team until the end, hoping that Cleveland could open an even bigger lead to advance.
Because of the uncertainty — 16 teams were still in contention — and the uniqueness heading into the final night of pool play, Bickerstaff said an unspecified staff member would monitor other matches in progress in case where a point differential would come into play.
“We have a plan and a number that we think we should achieve,” said Bickerstaff, who would not disclose the number. “We want to win the game.”
Bickerstaff acknowledged there was early skepticism about the tournament, but he thinks the players, coaches and fans have embraced it.
“I give the league a lot of credit because what they’ve done is masterful,” he said. “Our fans now care about what’s happening in Milwaukee, Miami, Brooklyn, New York and Charlotte. They’re watching these games tonight or watching the scores.
FOLLOWING
Hawks: At San Antonio on Thursday.
Cavaliers: Host Portland on Thursday.
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