Commentary: Donovan Mitchell takes over game, imposes will on Pistons

As you may have heard, it got a little hairy late in the fourth quarter of the Cavs' game with the Detroit Pistons on Monday night, when Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson inexplicably decided to empty his bench despite the fact that the game wasn't over. But all's well that ends well, especially if Donovan Mitchell is in the house. Fortunately for the Cavs and double fortunately for Coach Kenny, the great Mitchell almost single-handedly put the hay in the barn and the Detroit Pistons on their plane with a tour de force basketball masterpiece at Rocket Arena. Final score: Cavs 112, Pistons 103. Go ahead. You can exhale now. "Spida" was everywhere at once, and impossible to defend. Just ask former Cavs coach and current Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff, who had the grueling chore of trying to figure out how to stop perhaps the most unstoppable pro hoopster on the planet. You don't think so? Think again. Here was Mitchell's night at the office: In 37 minutes Spida had 43 points, converted 13 free throws, commandeered nine rebounds and collected two assists, a steal and a plus-28 plus/minus figure. This wasn't just vintage Mitchell. This was otherworldly Mitchell. Whenever the Cavs needed a bucket, a steal, a dunk, a rebound, or anything else to combat the Pistons' best shot, Mitchell beat them to the punch. This was Hall of Fame playoff-level Spida. How was your day? Thanks to you know who, the Cavs are one win closer to eliminating their former coach's team from the NBA playoff tournament. The series is tied at 2, but the Cavs have Mitchell and the Pistons do not. Team Spida started putting the hay in the barn early in the game by forcing five turnovers, which pointed the way to a 10-0 start for Kenny's Kids. The Cavs' bigs played well, especially in the first half, when Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen helped harass the Michigan hoopsters. The Cavs forced seven turnovers in the first quarter, which helped set a tone that the Cavs rode through all four quarters. Not even former Cavs marksman Caris LeVert could halt this Cavs' conquest. The Cavs seemed to have answers for everything the visiting Pistons threw at them, which helped ignite a relentless second-half Cavs flurry that was unstoppable. For crying out loud, even James Harden was chipping in with defensive trickeration — go figure! — that added even more frustration to the befuddled Pistons. At the half the Cavs were losing 56-52, but then came the second half, when Kenny's Kids went full macro, and the visitors from Michigan were left with nothing but empty gulps. Team Spida plunged into the second half and took turns scoring while simultaneously preventing Coach Bickerstaff's strategies from leaving the huddle. The Cavs started the second half as if they had already forgotten about the first. Kenny's Kids reeled off 16 straight points, which eventually morphed into a 19-0, or maybe it was a 21-0 Cleveland explosion that rocked Rocket Arena long enough to summon LeBron home for more parties next year, if he were so inclined. The Pistons, meanwhile, came out in the second half and it was every man for himself, especially in the huddle. They must have thought that the Cavs were playing with six or eight men. Not even superstar Cade Cunningham could halt the carnage, so Mitchell added to it. Everything went right for Cleveland, and the Pistons were left with nothing but out-of-date crankshafts. It was the kind of wreckage that you only see in the movies, but this was real life. This was real basketball. This was the Cavs fighting back. The fourth quarter was owned by Mitchell, who simply took over the game, and refused to give it back. Near the end of the game, which was briefly disconcerting, Coach Kenny decided to give some time to the bench bunch, which seemed like a good idea, until it wasn't. There was a brief moment of chaos, but then cooler heads prevailed, which in this case meant "throw the ball to Donovan and let's go home." Or something like that. However you want to look at it, the Cavs seem to be in a good place right now. They eliminated the Toronto Raptors and they have held their own vs. the Pistons. Contact Jim Ingraham at jingraham4@gmail.com.