Cavaliers: Donovan Mitchell puts latest loss on himself, as Cleveland continues to struggle

CLEVELAND — The Cavaliers' 119-111 overtime loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday fell squarely on the broad shoulders of Donovan Mitchell. Why? Because he said so. The six-time All-Star scored 17 points — more than 13 under his average coming into the game — and dished out seven assists. However, his shooting was off the mark the entire night, as he connected on just 6 of 24 attempts from the field and a brick-like 1-of-11 from the 3-point line. "I had one of those nights in a situation when I'm not allowed to have one of those nights," he said. Unfortunately, in their current situation, the Cavs (15-12) can't succeed when he has a below-average game. He was coming off a sensational 48-point effort against the Washington Wizards last Friday, and Cleveland needed every one of them to rally past one of the worst teams in the NBA. The same scenario presented itself Sunday, only this time Mitchell wasn't there to rescue the struggling Cavs. "I feel that if I had played better, we win that game," he said. "We competed and fought. But if I'm just half of myself tonight, we win. That's on me." This team is hard to figure out. Sure, it's missing several key pieces to injuries — Evan Mobley, Sam Merrill and Max Strus to name a few — but it still has the necessary ingredients to win ballgames, especially against the league's basement dwellers. A lot of their problems stem from the lack of effort. They often sleepwalk through three quarters and then try to capture the game in the fourth quarter. That's not always going to work. "We have to finish possessions," the first-team All-NBA player said. "It hurts when you do something well and the ball goes through your legs and out of bounds. Our process is solid. We just can't go at 75 percent. We have to go at 100." Mitchell, who leads the NBA with 101 3-point goals, is averaging 30.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 5.5 assists this season. He's shooting .494 from the field, .381 from long distance and .841 from the foul line. He said he heard the boos raining down from the rafters at Rocket Arena. "Of course," Mitchell said. "I've been a fan before. I'd boo us, too. The city deserves better than what we've been giving it. We have to figure it out." Their next two games are against Central Division foe Chicago. They travel to the Windy City on Wednesday and host the Bulls on Friday. The Cavs have plummeted to eighth in the Eastern Conference playoff race. If the postseason started today, Cleveland would be in the play-in tournament. That's a drastic drop for a team that had NBA Finals aspirations. Cavs point guard Darius Garland has been part of the problem thus far, even though he had perhaps his best game of the season against Charlotte with a season-high 26 points and nine assists. He continued to play after tweaking his left big toe that has been plaguing him all season. "That's who he is to us," Mitchell said. "He's tough. He's fighting through a lot. For him to put the team first, that's what we need. We know he's going through a lot. We're glad he had his best performance." Another bright spot has been the play of second-year swingman Jaylon Tyson, who recorded his third double-double of the season with 16 points and a career-high 13 rebounds against the Hornets. Mitchell said if Tyson makes mistakes, "they are aggressive mistakes." He's taken on the role of guarding the opposing team's top offensive threat. He's not a great athlete, but he's tough and battles to the end. On this team, he sticks out. Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson brought Tyson off the bench against Charlotte and started Dean Wade. Tyson still excelled. "He's selfless," Mitchell said. "There's no ego with him. He's been consistent every night." During Cleveland's comeback on Sunday, Atkinson went with the lineup of Wade at center with him surrounded by Mitchell, Garland, Tyson and Lonzo Ball. Expect to see more of the small-ball lineup, especially with Mobley sidelined with a calf injury and center Jarrett Allen fighting to get back to his normal self. Mitchell constantly pumps up Wade, who scored a season-high 14 points, and had eight rebounds, two assists and a steal. He connected on 3 of 6 from the 3-point line. "He's invaluable," he said. "Even when his shots aren't doing down, he's continuously getting in there and rebounding and guarding. He brings that to us every night." Mitchell, 29, refuses to use injuries as an excuse. "We have to be more consistent," he said. "No one is feeling sorry for us. I wouldn't. The only way out of this is to do it together. It's cloudy. It's dark. We deserve it. Our play has not been stellar. We'll continue to stay together. "It's (about) completing 100 percent of the possession. We haven't done it on a consistent basis and our record reflects that." Contact Bob Finnan at rfinnan30@gmail.com. Follow him @BobCavsinsider on X.