Mitchell pours in 37, Cavs improve to 14-0

On By Littum

Cleveland’s 14-game winning streak is the longest in the club’s 55-year history.

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CLEVELAND (AP) – The floor and the ball both looked different. Not the Cleveland Cavaliers, who remained unchanged — and tarnished.

They continued their perfect start and improved to 14-0 on Friday night with a 144-126 victory over the Chicago Bulls in an NBA Cup opener that served as another showcase for a Cavs team that is clicking like never before .

After the final buzzer, Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen celebrated more history by dancing on the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse court with a giant green frog, which has quickly become an impromptu mascot for an unscripted start.

“It’s Cleveland,” Allen said, trying to explain the amphibians’ sudden arrival. “It’s just a mood in the city and I hope it doesn’t change.”

Even playing without starting forward Evan Mobley, Cleveland became the sixth team in league history to win its first 14 games and the first since the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors, who opened 24-0 and finished 73-9.

Best start in NBA history

24-0 – Golden State Warriors (2015-16)
15-0 – Houston Rockets (1993-94)
15-0 – Washington Capitols (1948-49)
14-0 – Cleveland Cavaliers (2024-25)
14-0 – Dallas Mavericks (2002-03)
14-0 – Boston Celtics (1957-58)
12-0 – Chicago Bulls (1996-97)
12-0 – Seattle SuperSonics (1982-83)

There’s no telling where this season is headed in Cleveland, but there’s never been a Cavs team off to a better start.

The 14-game winning streak is the longest in club history — the Cavs had three 13-gamers with LeBron James on the roster — as first-year coach Kenny Atkinson has pushed all the right buttons as he dives deep into the bench each game.

Atkinson, who spent the past three seasons on Golden State’s staff after four years as Brooklyn’s coach, now has the longest winning streak of any coach with a new team. He entered the game tied with Lawrence Frank, who won 13 straight after taking over the Nets midway through the 2004 season.

While Atkinson inherited a team that made the Eastern Conference semifinals under JB Bickerstaff, the 57-year-old has made the Cavs even better by buying into an up-tempo offensive system designed around spacing, 3-pointers and ball movement.

Cavs win unselfishly.

“From the beginning, I knew it was a group that liked each other, that enjoyed playing with each other,” Atkinson said. “I knew we had good passers. We have good sticks. We know where to get it. We make quick decisions.”

After Cleveland blew out Golden State last week, Warriors forward Draymond Green said the Cavs moved the ball better than any team he’s seen — including the title winners he’s been on.

“I was so excited when Draymond said that the other day,” Atkinson said. “He was just really impressed with how we pinged the ball around. How we drive, kick, swing. We get it out of the pick and roll. We get it in fast-break situations and it’s Warriors-esque. It really is that type of ball movement. It’s beautiful to see.”

Atkinson does not let his team be satisfied either. After the Cavs allowed 73 points in the first half, the coach angrily slammed a flip flop in the locker room at halftime.

“That’s what we want,” Mitchell said. “We all prefer that. We hear how good we are. For us, this is how we get better. We haven’t lost, but how do you continue to find ways to build habits? It continues to train hard and not let anyone expire. That is what you want in a coach.”

To this point, the Cavs have been perfect, and it never hurts to have a player of Mitchell’s caliber leading the way.

He scored a season-high 37 – 18 in the fourth quarter – to hold off the Bulls, who were still within four points in the final three minutes as Cleveland went on what has become known as a “Cav-a-lanche” in recent years.

Substitute Caris LeVert and Mitchell both hit 3-pointers as the Cavs closed with a 21-7 flurry. A win on Sunday would put them in good stead as only four teams have started 15-0.

Sensing his team needed more from him, Mitchell opened the fourth by scoring Cleveland’s first nine points.

“It was him,” Atkinson said. “It wasn’t us. It wasn’t me who said that. He just senses what the team needs right now? And it could be him or it could be somebody else. And that speaks to his IQ, just the understanding of , who’s on the field, who he’s playing with.”

“We’re looking to score a little bit and he just took over.”

This was what Mitchell had in mind when he signed a three-year, $150 million contract extension this summer and committed to the Cavs.

He loved the city. He believed in the team’s young core. He knew the Cavs were capable of great things.

Mitchell didn’t see the streak — or the frog, which had been seen on the street outside the arena — coming.

“It was fun,” he said. “I was shocked when I saw the frog. It was pretty cool. It was like just a vibe.”

The Cavs want to make it last.