The Cleveland Cavaliers barely escaped their third loss in five games with a Friday-night win over the Washington Wizards.

Mitchell’s heroics saved Cleveland from its latest morale-zapping loss, as it rallied in the fourth quarter for a 130-126 victory.

Mitchell scored 24 of his 48 points in the fourth quarter. He drilled eight 3-pointers on the evening. And in the process, he passed Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and tied Jayson Tatum on the all-time 45-point game list. Tatum and Mitchell have both had nine such games in their careers now, according to StatMuse.

Down 15 with one quarter to play against one of the NBA’s worst teams, Donovan Mitchell played with a bit of desperation in the final period.

Donovan Mitchell has been balling from the time this season first got going. Not much has stopped him, and it seems that not much will.

The OKC Thunder have had a historic start after winning the NBA Finals. Should that be the Cleveland Cavaliers' blueprint for their standard?