Cavs' Donovan Mitchell never wanted the Knicks — he just wanted moments like this
The narratives were loud for a long, long time.
Cavs' Donovan Mitchell never wanted the Knicks — he just wanted moments like this originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here . The narratives followed Donovan Mitchell for most of his NBA career: He was going to end up with the New York Knicks .
The small-market Utah Jazz , and a trade to the small-market Cleveland Cavaliers ? Those were viewed by many national analysts as just stepping stones to Madison Square Garden. Not to Mitchell, though.
That's never been important to him. Mitchell embraces those who embrace him, and that's what happened first in Salt Lake City and now on the shores of Lake Erie. He showed his loyalty to Cleveland by signing a contract extension to prove he was going nowhere, and on Monday night, when the Cavs needed Mitchell to show why he was worthy of that deal, he delivered to lead Cleveland to a tied 2-2 series with the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
A quiet first half -- just four points, and a bunch of misses -- didn't matter. Mitchell came out of the phone booth in the third quarter and took the game over. He scored 21 points in the third, tying a franchise playoff record previously held by Kyrie Irving.