CLEVELAND, Ohio — A suddenly familiar sound echoed throughout Rocket Arena on Sunday afternoon.
Boos.
And the sellout crowd’s displeasure intensified as the game progressed, finally reaching a crescendo when the final buzzer sounded on a troubling 119-111 overtime loss to the hapless Charlotte Hornets — one of the league’s dregs who entered the afternoon as 12-point underdogs while playing without LaMelo Ball (ankle), Collin Sexton (quad contusion) and Tre Mann (knee).
Charlotte is now just 3-12 against teams with a winning record.
“No one is feeling sorry for us. I wouldn’t feel sorry for us,” Cavs star Donovan Mitchell said. “The only way we get out of this is us doing it as a group together. I know it’s cloudy, it’s dark and we’re getting booed. We deserve it. Our play hasn’t been stellar.
“I was a fan once. I would boo us too. We’re not playing well. The city deserves better than what we have been giving. As long as we continue to stay together in this locker room, we will be all right.”
Mitchell shouldered the blame after a rare off night. It’s what leaders do. He finished with a measly 17 points on a substandard 6 of 24 shooting, including 1 of 11 from 3-point range. He also missed the potential game-winning shot at the end of regulation, failed to follow the scouting report against Charlotte rookie Kon Knueppel multiple times, let a 50-50 ball slip out of his grasp and committed an untimely foul in the closing minutes because he was out of position. Mitchell finished with the game’s worst plus-minus (-12).
“I had one of those nights on a night when I’m not allowed to,” Mitchell admitted. “I feel like if I play better, we win that game. I don’t want to put that on anything else. Put this one on me. We competed. We fought. But I played poorly on both ends of the floor. That’s what happens.
“If I’m just half of myself tonight, we win. That’s on me. I know my teammates won’t say that. But I will.”
Mitchell has carried the underachieving Cavs through a turbulent first two months. He is one of the league’s leading scorers, on the MVP periphery, and headed for a seventh consecutive All-Star appearance.
Sunday was an exception.
The loss isn’t on him. Cleveland’s problems run longer than a CVS receipt.
These injury-wrecked and identity-less Cavs are an Eastern Conference contender in name only.
Sunday is the third time in the last four games they have been booed off their own home floor. It’s the sixth loss in the last nine games — three of which have come against lesser opponents with a record below .500. They are 19th in rebounding percentage, 22nd in field goal percentage, 28th in 3-point percentage and 11th in point differential.
At the start of this week, one that was classified as a needed reset, Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson chewed out his team for a lack of consistent effort and focus. Along with that uncomfortable film session, there was a player-led meeting where guys had a platform to share their unfiltered thoughts on the state of the team.
It could have been a watershed moment — the kind of eye-opening and reflective therapy that sparks a turnaround.
Little has changed since.
On Friday night, against the then-three-win Washington Wizards, Mitchell’s late-game heroics saved the teetering Cavaliers from a soul-crushing loss.
So, what did they learn from that escape?
Nothing, apparently.
Less than 48 hours later, the lackadaisical Cavs allowed the Hornets to erupt for 33 first-quarter points. Cleveland trailed by 10 at the half. It was behind by a game-high 17 at one point in the third quarter. Down nine going into the fourth.
Even though the Cavs awakened, overcame their own futility and rallied to take the lead — briefly — in the fourth quarter, even getting a chance to win it in the closing seconds, they couldn’t complete the comeback this time. Cleveland failed to score a single point in the extra period, missing all 10 of its shots and being outscored by eight.
By the end of the game, it trailed for nearly 47 minutes, including all but 34 seconds of the second half against a short-handed opponent perpetually collecting ping-pong balls for the draft lottery.
Even though the Cavs welcomed back starting center Jarrett Allen after he missed nine games with a finger injury, they were without reigning Defensive Player of the Year and second leading scorer Evan Mobley who could miss a month because of a calf strain. Invaluable Max Strus, the fifth member of one of NBA’s most dynamic starting lineups since his arrival in 2023, has yet to debut after offseason foot surgery. Sharpshooter Sam Merrill has missed the last month because of a sprained right hand that has been slow to heal. Backup forward Larry Nance Jr., one of the team’s summer additions, will be sidelined for at least a few more weeks with a calf injury. Point guard Darius Garland is battling lingering discomfort in his surgically repaired toe. He was limping most of crunch time.
“No excuse,” said Garland, who scored 26 points. “I’ve answered all the questions about my toe. I’m not even going to answer any more about my toe. I’m out there playing. I’m out there for my teammates trying to win basketball games. Just gotta find the energy and the competition, the spirit all over again.”
The many injuries — to key players — are _a_ reason for Cleveland’s maddening inconsistency. But the 15-12 record runs deeper than that.
This isn’t some plucky upstart still emerging from the rebuild rubble. There’s pressure. Expectations. Heavy is the crown.
High-priced Cleveland, considered a preseason favorite and the only team in the penal second apron, was supposed to use a depressing postseason — eliminated in five games by Indiana in the conference semifinals despite being favored in every game — as eternal fuel.
It was supposed to be a bitter lesson, the franchise’s North Star to a title.
Instead, that exit has been followed by this vexing start — an adversity-filled stretch dotted with multiple inexplicable performances that have drawn the fans ire and sounded the alarm on the team’s fragility and legitimacy.
“You’d rather these lumps now,” Mitchell reiterated. “It’s upsetting. It’s stuff that we can control. I’m not going to say concern.”
After the Cavaliers stormed back to tie Sunday’s matchup in the fourth quarter, Mitchell had a clean look at game-winning mid-range jumper. Another chance to avoid a crushing defeat. Another chance to be the savior.
Wasn’t to be.
After bricking the jumper, Mitchell pounded his hand on the padded scorer’s table, covered his face and rested it on the scorer’s table.
Disbelief? Anger? Dejection? Humiliation? Embarrassment?
Another night Mitchell exited the court to a chorus of jeers, left wrestling with his emotions and searching for answers.