NBA: Donovan Mitchell’s 43 points help Cavaliers sink Anthony Davis-less Lakers

Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Cleveland Cavaliers celebrates after scoring during the fourth quarter against the Los Angeles Lakers at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on December 06, 2022 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Cavaliers defeated the Lakers 115-100. Jason Miller/Getty Images/AFP

Donovan Mitchell scored a season-high 43 points to fuel the host Cleveland Cavaliers to a 116-102 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday.

Mitchell made 17 of 27 shots from the floor and 4 of 8 from 3-point range to eclipse his previous season-high point total of 41, set during the Cavaliers’ 132-123 overtime win at Boston on Oct. 28.

Cleveland’s Jarrett Allen scored 22 of his 24 points in the first half and finished with 11 rebounds in his return from a five-game absence due to a back injury.

Donovan Mitchell went OFF in Cleveland

43 PTS (season-high)
6 REB
5 AST
4 STL
4 3PM
W

What a night for Spida. pic.twitter.com/XyBXODWXfB

— NBA (@NBA) December 7, 2022

Darius Garland added 21 points and 11 assists to propel Cleveland to its eighth win in last 11 games overall and improve to an NBA-best 11-1 at home this season.

Former Cavaliers star LeBron James collected 21 points and 17 rebounds for the Lakers, who saw their three-game winning streak come to a halt. Thomas Bryant scored 19 points and Russell Westbrook and Dennis Schroder each added 16 in a losing effort.

Western Conference Player of the Week Anthony Davis of the Lakers scored just one point in eight minutes before exiting the game with flu-like symptoms.

Los Angeles didn’t do itself any favors with its performance from 3-point range. It made just 6 of 36 attempts from beyond the arc.

Schroder sank a mid-range jumper to forge a tie at 92-92 before Mitchell ignited a 9-0 surge. He had a driving layup and a 3-pointer before setting up Allen and Cedi Osman for short jumpers.

The Lakers closed the deficit to five before Mitchell effectively put the game out of reach. He converted a three-point play, sank a pair of free throws, set up Caris LeVert’s layup and drained a 3-pointer to push the Cavaliers’ lead to 113-98 with 3:22 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Cleveland scored 15 of the final 19 points of the first half to seize a 57-49 lead at intermission. Mitchell had 11 of those points for the Cavaliers before Garland capped the run by draining a 3-pointer with 25.6 seconds to play.

Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett was in attendance at the game.

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