Just Now: Cavs star Donovan Mitchell ejected in win vs. Spurs’Befor Receiving Unexpected Slapped…
Cleveland Cavaliers star guard Donovan Mitchell and San Antonio Spurs big man Zach Collins were ejected after an altercation in the final minute of the Cavs’ 117–101 win in San Antonio on Saturday night. After the game, Mitchell explained that he felt Collins committed a “dirty” play and he simply retaliated.
“He hit me in the face,” Mitchell said, per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. “I feel like it was dirty, so I pushed him back. Knew I was going to be ejected. But if you hit me, I will hit you back. That’s that.”
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Donovan Mitchell’s status as one of the league’s best scorers was again on display on Saturday. He had a game-high 31 points on 12-20 shooting, including a 4-9 mark from three. He also had 7 assists vs. 2 turnovers, continuing his recent run of stellar playmaking. What a season he is having. He’s a deserving All-Star and should be in the running for an All-NBA slot if he keeps this up.
Evan Mobley may be finding his footing as a scorer, or at least working his way toward a concrete offensive identity. Mobley taking (and making) three three-pointers in rhythm in this game was impressive and telling about where he’s at. His jumper has never looked better or more confident than it did here.
Jarrett Allen had a 26-point, 16-rebound night and, in tandem with Mobley, gave Victor Wembanyama everything he could handle. If not for a rebound being taken away in Memphis earlier this week, his double-double streak would be still going strong. He also looked healthy after injuring his ankle on Wednesday, a good sign for a Cavs team that has had all of the injury issues it can handle already this season.
Stock down
Darius Garland’s performance on Saturday was odd. He played 23 minutes in his third game back from a broken jaw, which makes sense considering he lost 12 pounds in that month and is going to take some time to get 100% physically. But Garland also only took three shots, finished with 4 points and had 4 assists vs. 3 turnovers.
Garland never made an impact on this game. That is fine against a bad team like San Antonio and on a night where Mitchell, Mobley and Allen all play well. But the Cavs need more from Garland. They need a version of Garland that wasn’t even really there before he missed time with injury.
Damian Jones did not play until garbage time. It appears that the Cavs are not going to play a backup center on most nights now that Mobley is back and Allen is playing at the level he is.
Holding
Dean Wade played fewer minutes than Georges Niang and Sam Merrill in this game. Is he being pushed to the back end of J.B. Bickerstaff’s rotation now that the Cavs are healthy?
