Cleveland Cavaliers' US Point Guard Donovan Mitchell (L) challenges Brooklyn Nets' US Small Forward Dorian Finney-Smith (R) during the NBA regular season basketball match between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Brooklyn Nets at the Accor Arena in Paris on January 11, 2024.Photo: EMMANUEL DUNAND / AFP / Getty Images
Donovan Mitchell was unstoppable on the world stage with a season-high 45 points, powering the Cleveland Cavaliers to a wire-to-wire victory over the Brooklyn Nets, 111-102, in the franchise’s Paris debut. Mitchell also poured in 12 rebounds, six assists, and four steals in front of 15,887 fans at Accor Arena.
Cavs’ head coach JB Bickerstaff told reporters after the game that Mitchell, “was phenomenal at giving the audience, and us, what they came to see and what we needed to win the game. He was aggressive early and set the tone for everybody. He lifted his teammates up.”
Mitchell scored 12 points in the first quarter, including eight of the team’s first 10, and capped off the team’s dominant first half with 17. Cleveland led 54-34 at the break, but lost sharpshooter Max Strus with left knee soreness for most of the contest.
The Cavs increased their lead to a game-high 26 with Donovan Mitchell's layup early in the third, and both teams traded buckets throughout the period. However, the Nets elongated it by employing the “Hack-a-Shaq” strategy against Tristan Thompson: intentionally fouling him and forcing him to shoot free throws, of which he hit one of four before being subbed out. Nevertheless, the Cavs ended the third quarter with an 18-point lead, 78-60, despite being outscored 26-24.
Down, but not out, Brooklyn began the fourth quarter on a 10-2 run to pull within 10 points at 80-70 with 9:51 remaining. During the timeout immediately after the play, Tristan Thompson bumped chests with Nets’ Nic Claxton, for which Thompson was assessed a “Flagrant 2” foul and was ejected from the game. Although the Cavs lost Thompson, one of their energizers off the bench, they showed resilience in the fourth quarter behind Donovan Mitchell's dominant shooting.
Despite the Cavs being outscored 42-33 in the frame, Mitchell came through with 21 of the team's points and the Nets had no answer for him. Mitchel had four three-pointers and hit all seven free-throw attempts in route to his 45 points, his third time scoring 40 or more in a game this season (43 on October 27 vs. the Thunder, and 40 on November 28 vs. the Hawks).
On the other side, Mikal Bridges and Cam Thomas led the Nets with 26 points each while Lonnie Walker IV, along with Thomas, had 20 points off the bench. Bridges pulled the Nets within seven points with 4:51 to go after converting an and-one free-throw attempt, making the score 91-84. Then Walker answered Donovan Mitchell's three-pointer with his own with 4:14 left, making it 94-87. Shortly after that Mitchell knocked down his fourth three-pointer of the quarter to push Cleveland's lead back to 10. The Nets continued making shots down the stretch, but the Cavs hit 11 of 14 free throws in the final three minutes to hold off Brooklyn's comeback attempt for the nine-point win.
Jarrett Allen had four blocks to go with his 13th double-double of the season – 12 points and rebounds apiece. Issac Okoro and Jarrett Allen chipped in a dozen, while Caris LeVert led the Cavs’ bench with 21 points.
The Cavs outshot the Nets from the free throw line, going 34-43 to the Nets' 20-28, and outscored Brooklyn 18-8 in second-chance points. Despite getting outscored in the paint 46-34, the Cavs outrebounded the Nets 47-41, and won the turnover margin 17-11.
The Cavs earn their fourth straight win, improve to 22-15, and pick up their second win over the Nets in as many meetings this season as Brooklyn falls to 16-22. The Cavs will return home tomorrow and will be off until Monday at 7:00 PM when they host the Chicago Bulls.
Caris LeVert was among several members of the Cavs' organization to speak highly of the trip, stating courtside postgame: "It was an amazing event. Obviously we were super glad that we got the win tonight, that was the main focus of the trip, but I think everybody and their families enjoyed everything about the trip."