Donovan Mitchell avoids loss with huge fourth quarter

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) stands next to Cavaliers guard Darius Garland (10) on the court during a stoppage in play against the Washington Wizards in the second half at Capital One Arena. Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Cavaliers' Donovan Mitchell avoids humiliating loss with huge fourth quarter

By Sean Keane | Last updated Dec 13, 2025 12:25 AM ET

Nothing motivates an NBA star like the bright lights of a big game. A close second is the fear of humiliating defeat.

The latter may be what inspired Donovan Mitchell to score 24 of his 48 points in the fourth quarter of the Cleveland Cavaliers' 130-126 comeback win over the 3-20 Washington Wizards. He nearly outscored the Wizards by himself as the Cavaliers came back from 15 points after three quarters.

Donovan Mitchell overcame the Wizards almost singlehandedly

Mitchell shot 4-of-6 from three-point range in the fourth, going 8-of-14 overall, 4-of-4 from the foul line and adding two assists and a steal. Craig Porter, Jr. added two steals, Lonzo Ball hit a three and Darius Garland finally broke out of his game-long shooting slump, but the comeback was virtually all Mitchell.

For the game, Mitchell went 8-of-15 from behind the arc. The rest of his teammates? 7-of-38, with Garland missing all 11 of his long-range shots. Thankfully for the Cavs, Mitchell was money from well beyond the three-point line.

DONOVAN MITCHELL DRILLS THE DEEP TRIPLE!

He's up to 37 PTS as the Cavs keep climbing back vs. WAS pic.twitter.com/WnI8FWQhU8
— NBA (@NBA) December 13, 2025

It's been a mildly disappointing season for the Cavaliers. Coming off a 64-win season, they've stumbled offensively and started off 15-11. But nothing would have been worse than losing to the three-win Wizards, who were playing without last season's No. 2 overall pick, Alex Sarr.

Washington got 27-point games from second-year guard Bub Carrington and 13th-year guard CJ McCollum, and looked ready for their biggest win of the season. Unfortunately, the young Wizards didn't have the firepower to hang with Mitchell.

Donovan Mitchell needs more help from his teammates

Mitchell's averaging 31.3 points this season. He's leading the NBA with 100 three-pointers. The rest of the team is taking a lot of threes, the most of any team in the league, but they're only 23rd in three-point accuracy.

Garland's been a big part of that, dropping to 26.6 percent. De'Andre Hunter hasn't been much better at 31 percent. Cleveland is feeling the absence of the departed Ty Jerome and Georges Niang, as well as the injured Max Strus.

Strus will be back. Garland should get healthier. Until then, Cleveland may have to rely on Mitchell catching fire late in games to avoid embarrassing losses. It may not be sustainable, but it's entertaining.

Sean Keane

Sean Keane is a sportswriter and a comedian based in Oakland, California, with experience covering the NBA, MLB, NFL and Ice Cube’s three-on-three basketball league, The Big 3. He’s written for Comedy Central’s “Another Period,” ESPN the Magazine, and Audible. com

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