Somewhere, Leon Rose had to be regretting holding onto all those extra draft picks.
After months of trade talks, the Knicks president couldn’t bring Donovan Mitchell home, and the Knicks saw up close what kind of talent they could’ve — and maybe should’ve — had.
Mitchell scored 38 points and added 13 assists as Cleveland, even without All-Star guard Darius Garland, owned the final quarter to win its fifth straight game. The Knicks, meanwhile, fell to 3-3, and 0-3 against playoff-caliber opponents. Their perimeter defense was mostly nonexistent, allowing the Cavs to hit 23 of 50 3-point attempts, eight off the bench from Kevin Love .
Mitchell started the game like he was shot out of a cannon, producing 15 points and five assists in the opening 8:39. The Knicks started slow-footed veteran Evan Fournier on Mitchell, and he torched him from deep. At one point, Mitchell walked into a 25-footer — one of his five first-quarter 3’s — like it was nothing as the shot clock expired, and either scored or assisted on all 14 Cavaliers points in an electric 14-5 run that gave them a 10-point edge late in the first quarter.