Mitchell pours in 24 fourth-quarter points as Cavaliers erase 15-point deficit to edge Wizards 130-126
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WASHINGTON — Donovan Mitchell erupted for 24 of his 48 points in the final period on Friday night, sparking the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 130-126 comeback win over the Washington Wizards.
The Cavaliers trailed 100-85 entering the fourth quarter and had been down by as many as 17 in the third. Mitchell opened the final frame with 11 points in roughly 2½ minutes and ultimately produced the NBA’s highest-scoring fourth quarter of the season, surpassing the 22 points scored by Orlando’s Jett Howard on Nov. 23 against Boston.
Cleveland shot 15-for-53 from beyond the arc, but Mitchell kept the team afloat by going 8-for-15 from long range. His late three-pointer knotted the game at 122, and his driving basket with one minute remaining put the Cavaliers ahead for good.
Mitchell’s 24 fourth-quarter points tie the second-most by a Cavaliers player in a final period since play-by-play tracking began in 1997-98. Darius Garland had 27 in November 2023, while LeBron James scored 24 in April 2008.
The decisive sequence came with 30.9 seconds left, when a jump ball between the 6-foot-3 Mitchell and 6-foot-11 Marvin Bagley III was mishandled by both players. The loose ball landed with Cleveland’s Lonzo Ball, who converted two free throws to extend the lead to four.
Washington fell to 3-20. Cleveland, coming off a five-day break like the Wizards, improved to 12-11. Mitchell continues to top the league with an average of 9.6 points in fourth quarters.
Source: ESPN
