The Cleveland Cavaliers scored a comeback road win over the Boston Celtics on Friday night, rebounding from 25-3 deficit in the first quarter for an eventual 123–116 victory.
Unsurprisingly, much of that success was fueled by a dominant performance from 28-year-old guard Donovan Mitchell, who put up a season-best 41 points (26 of them in the second half), three rebounds, and five assists.
After the game was over, Mitchell took a second to reflect on the contest, and used the perfect metaphor to describe what the weight of the victory meant to the Cavs.
"At the end of the day, we've done a lot of really good things this season, but I keep telling my guys we haven't done anything. All the hype, all the 15-0, and all that. That's great, that's phenomenal, but we haven't done anything yet. These guys, this is a measuring stick," he said, alluding to playing against the Celtics. "These guys have won a championship and we want to continue to get to where they're at. And you know, we saw that, we took steps. And like I told you this morning, we could've won by 40, lost by 40, the biggest thing is how do we continue to adjust on the fly, game by game? I'm really proud of our group, locking in, and we gotta do it again."
Watch that answer below:
"This is our measuring stick."
— NBA (@NBA) March 1, 2025
Donovan Mitchell knows what a win in Boston means for the Cavs 💯 pic.twitter.com/5RV0CG8ugn
Mitchell definitely has a point. The match-up itself— No.1 in the East vs. the defending NBA champions—felt like a statement game, especially as this could very well be the set-up for this year's Eastern Conference final. Of course, there is still time left and a lot could change by then—injuries, momentum, etc.— but the Cavs will probably rest a bit easier tonight knowing they were able to put Boston away at home.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Donovan Mitchell Uses Perfect Metaphor for Weight of Cavs' Comeback Win Over Celtics.
