WASHINGTON (AP) — Down 15 with one quarter to play against one of the NBA's worst teams, Donovan Mitchell played with a bit of desperation in the final period.
“Be aggressive,” he said. “Can't really lose this game coming out of the break.”
Mitchell scored 24 of his 48 points in the fourth quarter, and the Cleveland Cavaliers rallied to beat the Washington Wizards 130-126 on Friday night. With both teams coming off a five-day layoff, the Cavaliers shot just 15 of 53 from 3-point range. It would have been worse if not for Mitchell's 8 for 15.
The Wizards fell to 3-20 on the season.
Mitchell scored 11 points in about 2 1/2 minutes to start the fourth. He ended up with the highest-scoring fourth quarter in the NBA this season, surpassing the 22 points by Orlando's Jett Howard on Nov. 23 against Boston.
Mitchell is averaging a league-best 9.6 points per game in the fourth.
“You're playing a team that's 3 and whatever, and you're down 15, you can kind of tuck your tails and ... kind of give in, right?” Mitchell said. “But we found a way.”
The Cavaliers trailed by 17 during a third quarter in which they allowed 40 points. It was 100-85 entering the fourth. Mitchell finally tied the game at 122 with a 3-pointer, then scored inside with a minute remaining to give Cleveland the lead.
Then came a moment when the 6-foot-3 guard appeared overmatched — a jump ball between him and 6-foot-11 Marvin Bagley III. But both players mistimed their jumps, and the ball ended up with Cleveland's Lonzo Ball, who made two free throws with 30.9 seconds left that put the Cavs up by four.
So Mitchell could look on the bright side after the game, while understanding that the big deficit was concerning in itself.
“That can't happen. We can't be in that position,” he said. "We have to figure it out.”
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Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) splits the defense of the Washington Wizards to shoot during the second half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell celebrates after his go-ahead basket late in the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Washington Wizards, Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)
DENVER (AP) — A Frontier Airlines plane hit and killed a pedestrian on the runway of the Denver International Airport during takeoff, airport authorities said, sparking an engine fire and forcing passengers to evacuate.
The plane, on route from Denver to Los Angeles International Airport, “reported striking a pedestrian during takeoff at DEN at approximately 11:19 p.m. on Friday," the airport's official X account wrote.
A spokesperson for the airport said the pedestrian, who jumped a perimeter fence, has died. They said the unidentified person was hit two minutes after entering the airport. The person is not believed to be an airport employee.
“We're stopping on the runway,” the pilot tells the control tower according to the site ATC.com. “We just hit somebody. We have an engine fire.”
The pilot tells the air traffic controller they have “231 souls” on board and that an “individual was walking across the runway.”
The air traffic controller responds that they are “rolling the trucks now" before the pilot tells the tower they “have smoke in the aircraft. We are going to evacuate on the runway.”
Frontier Airlines said in a statement flight 4345 was the one involved in the collision and that “smoke was reported in the cabin and the pilots aborted takeoff.” It was not clear whether the smoke was linked to the crash with the pedestrian.
“The Airbus A321 was carrying 224 passengers and seven crew members,” the airline said. “We are investigating this incident and gathering more information in coordination with the airport and other safety authorities.”
Passengers were then evacuated via slides and the emergency crew bused them to the terminal. The airport spokesperson said 12 passengers suffered minor injuries and five were taken to local hospitals.
Denver Airport said the National Transportation Safety Board had been notified and that runway 17L, where the incident took place, will remain closed while an investigation is conducted. It is expected to open later today.
The pedestrian death came a day after a Delta Air Lines employee was killed while on the job at the Orlando International Airport. In a statement, the airline said the employee was killed Thursday night without providing details of the incident nor the name of the employee.
“We are focused on extending our full support to family and taking care of our Orlando team during this difficult time,” the airline said. "We are working with local authorities as a full investigation gets underway to determine what occurred.”
FILE - A Frontier Airlines jetliner taxis down a runway for take off from Denver International airport on Nov. 25, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)
