Donovan Mitchell scored a season-high 48 points on Friday to help the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers rally for a 130-126 victory over the Washington Wizards.
Mitchell hit eight 3-pointers, while Evan Mobley added 23 points and 13 rebounds and Darius Garland chipped in 18 points for the Cavaliers, who trailed by 17 points late in the third quarter. De’Andre Hunter scored 15 and Jaylon Tyson had 13 for Cleveland, which outscored Washington 45-26 in the fourth.
CJ McCollum and Bub Carrington led Washington with 27 points apiece. Marvin Bagley III finished with 15 points and 13 rebounds in the Wizards’ fourth straight loss. Kyshawn George and Jamir Watkins both scored 15, followed by Tristan Vukcevic’s 14.
After Washington trailed by two points at halftime, Carrington’s consecutive 3-pointers capped a 14-2 run to begin the third quarter, giving the Wizards a 74-64 edge.
Bagley’s five straight points and Will Riley’s dunk then extended Washington’s lead to 16 midway through the third.
Mitchell’s layup trimmed Cleveland’s deficit to 15 to stamp a quarter that saw the Wizards outscore the Cavaliers 40-23.
From there, Mitchell’s 3-pointer and Garland’s basket pulled Cleveland within 10, forcing Washington to use a timeout less than a minute into the fourth.
Trailing by eight, the Cavaliers rattled off seven straight points to cut Washington’s lead to 107-106 at the 8:11 mark.
Carrington’s mid-range jumper snapped a three-minute streak for Washington without a made field goal, giving the Wizards a 122-119 cushion with 2:31 left. Mitchell then drained a game-tying 3-pointer on the next possession.
After Washington missed three shots on one possession, Mitchell’s layup with one minute left gave the Cavaliers their first lead since the opening minute of the second half.
Mobley drained two free throws with 23.7 seconds left, before Mitchell’s layup with 5.9 seconds left sealed the comeback win.
After Tre Johnson’s layup gave Washington a 24-21 edge, Mitchell finished the first quarter with back-to-back 3-pointers, stamping a 14-0 Cleveland run to give the visitors a 35-24 lead entering the second.
The Wizards opened the second period with nine straight points, including Carrington’s triple to pull Washington within two.
McCollum’s personal 6-0 run gave Washington a four-point advantage with 4:37 left in the first half, before Hunter and Tyson each connected on treys for Cleveland. The Cavaliers used two late free throws to pull ahead 62-60 at halftime.
–Field Level Media
