Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell mailed in an early submission for this season’s slam dunk of the year against the Boston Celtics on Tuesday night.
Mitchell, standing at 6-foot-3, took flight and put 7-foot-2 Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis on an NBA 2K-like poster with a vicious first-quarter dunk. Cleveland’s All-Star collected an outpour of oohs and aahs from the crowd in attendance at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse and set the tone for a much-anticipated matchup.
Cleveland’s entire bench rose to its feet in disbelief as Cavaliers teammate Tristian Thompson’s jaw nearly hit the floor. It’s not surprising, considering Mitchell’s been among the most elite guards in the league since he debuted as a member of the Utah Jazz in 2017-18, but it’s no less worthy of going viral. Mitchell’s highlight of the night also posed a reminder of what Boston missed out on during last season’s Eastern Conference semifinals matchup with Cleveland.
Mitchell, currently averaging 23.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.7 assists through 47 games, earned his sixth consecutive All-Star appearance, joining teammates Evan Mobley and Darius Garland. It’s early, however, the Mitchell-led Cavaliers are projected to be among the biggest threats to the Celtics amid their championship defense.
Boston and Cleveland have split the first season-series matchups, with the Celtics falling, 115-111, during December’s trip to Cleveland.
The conference-leading Cavaliers entered Tuesday night leading the second-place Celtics by five-and-a-half games in the standings.
