Cavaliers Let One Slip in the Garden: A Christmas Collapse That Stings
The Cavaliers had it. The stop, the transition opportunity, the open floor - all of it was there for the taking. But in a season where the little things have turned into big problems, Cleveland once again found itself on the wrong end of a game that could’ve - maybe should’ve - gone their way.
With just under two minutes left in regulation on Christmas Day at Madison Square Garden, Donovan Mitchell broke free after a defensive stop. Darius Garland saw him streaking down the court and fired a perfect outlet pass. It looked like a momentum-sealing moment: Mitchell alone with the rim, a chance to put the Cavs up three and silence a surging Knicks crowd.
But instead of taking the easy two, Mitchell slowed up and gathered for a two-handed dunk. That split-second hesitation gave Knicks guard Tyler Kolek just enough time to make a play - and he did. Kolek chased Mitchell down and disrupted what should’ve been a sure bucket.
“I didn’t see him,” Mitchell said postgame. “I don’t slow up unless there’s nobody around.
Credit to him. Hell of a play.
That’s winning basketball. I knew it wasn’t a foul as soon as they called it.”
The Cavs came up empty on that possession. The Knicks responded by retaking the lead - and they never gave it back.
“Lay it up, Don,” head coach Kenny Atkinson said, not sugarcoating the moment. “Lay it in off one foot.
He knows. There were a couple frustrating plays like that.”
And that was the story of the game in a nutshell. The Cavaliers had built a 17-point lead, controlled long stretches of the game, and still walked away with a 126-124 loss - another painful chapter in a season that’s been defined by missed opportunities and fourth-quarter fades.
“I wish I could be up here and say we won this game,” Atkinson said. “But you feel it as a coach.
I couldn’t be more encouraged. Disappointed in how we lost, but buy the dip.
I’ve got a ton of confidence in this group.”
That confidence will be tested. With the loss, Cleveland fell to 17-15 and now sits seventh in the Eastern Conference standings - a far cry from last season, when they finished with the best record in the league. If the playoffs started today, the Cavaliers would be staring down the play-in tournament, something they’ve avoided since Mitchell arrived in Cleveland.
Atkinson didn’t point fingers, but he didn’t mince words either. For him, the issue isn’t just physical execution - it’s mental sharpness.
“I think it starts with mentality,” he said. “It’s mental focus.
Are you seeing your man? Are you crashing?
Are you getting a hit first? Those are focus plays.”
And right now, those focus plays - the ones that separate contenders from pretenders - are slipping through Cleveland’s fingers. The Mitchell fast break was just one moment, but it captured the larger theme: a team with the talent to win, still searching for the consistency to close.
There’s still time to find it. But if the Cavaliers want to avoid spending their postseason hopes in a play-in battle, they’ll need to start turning these near-misses into wins - and fast.