The NBA world is still recovering from Luka Doncic becoming a Los Angeles Laker over the weekend, but the show must go on. And what better way to put the attention back on the court than a primetime matchup between the Eastern Conference's top two teams?
The Boston Celtics went to Cleveland to take on Donovan Mitchell and the first-place Cavaliers Tuesday night. Mitchell got to work early by entering his name into the ring for the best dunk of the year.
Just four-and-a-half minutes into the game, Mitchell bounced a crafty dribble to split between Boston's Jayson Tatum and Jrue Holiday to find a clear path to the hoop.
Celtics' big man Kristaps Porzingis rotated to help and contest Mitchell at the rim. Porzingis jumped and got his arm up, but Mitchell cocked his arm back and slammed the ball down over the seven-footer, which brought the full crowd at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse to its feet.
SPIDA MONSTER SLAM. @spidadmitchell | #LetEmKnow pic.twitter.com/LilEKV5uj5
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) February 5, 2025
SPIDA CRANKED IT BACK 😱 pic.twitter.com/PFKV8EA2Ad
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 5, 2025
The Cleveland bench, including Tristan Thompson, had a pretty great reaction too:
😮 @ChrisRose pic.twitter.com/2y3HIZI3ZW
— Keith McPherson (@Keith_McPherson) February 5, 2025
On Tuesday, the Cavaliers try to add to their NBA-best 40-9 record, while the Celtics (35-15) hope to make up some ground, currently sitting as the No. 2 seed in the East. Boston and Cleveland have split their regular season series thus far. After their showdown Tuesday, they will play each other once more in the regular season on Feb. 28.
Mitchell's slam will be hard to top.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Donovan Mitchell Enters Dunk of the Year Talks With Poster Over Kristaps Porzingis.
