Mitchell, Harden Lift Cavaliers Over Nuggets in Late-Game Thriller 119-117

The clock showed less than a second remaining. The noise inside Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse had reached that deafening, fever pitch that usually only happens in May or June. Donovan Mitchell stood at the free-throw line, wiping sweat from his brow, alone in the spotlight with the game in his hands.

Make them, and the Cleveland Cavaliers complete a stunning comeback against the defending champions. Miss, and the effort goes to waste.

Mitchell didn’t flinch. He drained the free throws with 0.9 seconds left, capping a chaotic, exhilarating 119-117 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Monday night. It was a statement win, the kind that forces the rest of the league to take notice, fueled by a 32-point performance from “Spida” and a vintage showing from James Harden.

Cavaliers Show Resilience in Comeback Win

For most of the night, it looked like another clinic by Nikola Jokic. The Nuggets controlled the tempo, building an 11-point lead that felt much larger given how efficiently their offense was humming. Jokic, as he so often does, was picking the defense apart, finishing with a massive triple-double: 22 points, 14 rebounds, and 11 assists.

But this Cleveland team has found the grit that was missing in previous years. They didn’t fold. Instead, they chipped away.

“We just kept telling each other in the huddle, ‘We’re right there,'” Mitchell said postgame.

The energy shifted in the fourth quarter. The defense tightened, forcing Denver into uncharacteristic turnovers. Suddenly, the transition game opened up, and the Cavaliers began to run. The crowd sensed the shift, rising to their feet as the lead shrank from 11 to six to two.

The Harden Factor: A Rivalry Renewed

While Mitchell provided the closing heroics, it was James Harden who kept Cleveland alive when the offense stagnated.

Monday marked the 14th time Harden has faced Denver since the start of the 2024-25 season, a stretch that includes that grueling seven-game slugfest in the first round of last year’s playoffs. There is no love lost there, and there are certainly no secrets. Harden knows exactly how Denver defends, and he exploited every inch of space they gave him.

Finishing with 22 points and 10 rebounds, Harden was instrumental in the rally that cut the Nuggets’ lead to 106-104. But his biggest moment came with just 32 seconds on the clock. With the Cavs trailing by three, Harden isolated on the wing, danced with the dribble, and stepped back.

The net snapped. Tie game, 117-117.

It was a flashback to the MVP-caliber Harden, a reminder that even in the twilight of his career, he can still break a defense’s heart.

Jarrett Allen and the Turning Point

You can’t talk about this win without mentioning the anchor in the middle. Jarrett Allen was a monster on the glass, pulling down 13 rebounds to go with his 22 points. His battle with Jokic was physical and exhausting, yet Allen refused to give ground.

The play of the night—and perhaps the emotional turning point—came minutes before the final buzzer. With the Cavaliers trailing, Mitchell drove the lane and tossed a sky-high lob. Allen caught it one-handed, slamming it home for an alley-oop that shook the stanchion and cut the deficit to a single point.

That dunk did more than add two points to the board; it injected a level of adrenaline into the building that Denver simply couldn’t match down the stretch. Even with Jamal Murray adding 17 points and 11 assists for the Nuggets, and Christian Braun playing gritty minutes in his fourth game back from an ankle injury, Denver couldn’t stem the tide of Cleveland’s momentum.

What’s Next for the Cavaliers

This wasn’t just a win; it was an exorcism of sorts against a team that has given Cleveland nightmares in the recent past. Beating a fully healthy Denver squad, led by a dominant Jokic, proves that the Cavaliers belong in the conversation for the Eastern Conference crown.

There isn’t much time to celebrate, though. The grind continues as the Cavs host the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night, looking to turn this emotional high into a winning streak.

For now, though, Cleveland can breathe. They took the best punch from the best in the world, and they were the ones standing when the final buzzer sounded.