On Wednesday night, the Cleveland Cavaliers survived a valiant effort from the terribly undermanned Philadelphia 76ers that was missing all three of its stars to extend their winning streak to 13 to start the season with a 114-106 win. There have not been too many teams in NBA history to win at least 13 games to begin the campaign, and the Cavs continue their winning ways despite being guaranteed to take their opponent’s best shot every night moving forward.
However, the required standards for the pursuit of perfection is inexplicably high, and the Cavs know that they cannot afford to have any slippage with the entire NBA gunning for them at the moment. Thus, Donovan Mitchell took it upon himself to apologize for a lapse in concentration on his part late in the Cavs’ win over the 76ers when he decided to chase a triple-double, only for it to backfire immediately. (Mitchell finished with 23 points, 13 rebounds, and nine assists on the night.)
“Cavs fans, I’m sorry. I should have put the game away earlier. That was a selfish moment, I ain’t going to lie. I haven’t had [a triple-double] in my career, almost lost the game doing that. That’s a selfish move, it won’t happen again. I apologize and I apologize to my teammates, I’m sorry y’all,” Mitchell told FanDuel Sports Network sideline reporter Serena Winters following the game, via Camryn Justice of News 5 Cleveland.
But as some would contend, the best apology is changed behavior. After Mitchell turned it over in his bid to chase his 10th assist of the game, which led to two points for the 76ers, Spida decided that it was time to stop playing around. He scored five straight points for the Cavs on the ensuing possession, and all of that was simply a teaching lesson for the 28-year-old guard.
“Play the game the right way. It’ll come at some point. But yeah, that won’t happen again. That was one of those moments, but it won’t happen—we all have those moments, but at the end of the day you put the game away when you needed to. I had to make up for it after that. So glad we got the win,” Mitchell added.
Cavs continue their bid for history
The most difficult part about keeping up a lengthy winning streak is to maintain the requisite focus and energy needed to continue their winning ways. Opposing teams will have something extra in the tank against the Cavs now, and they have experienced this firsthand with the way the shorthanded 76ers performed on Wednesday night — as well as mini-scares against the Chicago Bulls and Brooklyn Nets in recent days.
The Cavs’ game against the Boston Celtics on November 19 (Tuesday) still stands out as a huge game in the context of their historic run. But they will have to handle games against the Bulls and Charlotte Hornets — extending their win streak to 15 — before they even entertain any thoughts regarding the Celtics.
