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Donovan Mitchell out with illness for Cavs vs. Bulls rematch
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- Donovan Mitchell out with illness for Cavs vs. Bulls rematch
CLEVELAND — Adding another blow to what has been a dismal Cavaliers season thus far, All-NBA guard Donovan Mitchell sat out Dec. 19 against the Chicago Bulls with an illness, coach Kenny Atkinson said.
The Cavs fell 136-125 to the Bulls.
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Despite being sick, Mitchell played for the Cavs (15-14) on Dec. 17 in a 127-111 loss at the Bulls (12-15). But instead of Mitchell improving since then, he has felt worse, Atkinson said. Backup guard Craig Porter Jr. also sat out the Cavs' rematch against the Bulls because of an illness, Atkinson said.
"We're going to have to weather some more storms, some more clouds," Atkinson said. "So Donovan came in yesterday. He was under the weather in the Chicago game. He came in yesterday pretty sick. We sent him home, and then today, not feeling well at all. Kind of got worse. So he's out.
"Craig Porter Jr., that happened today, this morning, pretty sick. So it's kind of going around. Unfortunate. ... It's a great challenge for us. These [situations] are, I always say, they're program builders. See what you got. See how your young guys are progressing."
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With Mitchell and Porter out, rookie guard Tyrese Proctor made his first career regular-season NBA start. He scored 16 points, grabbed six rebounds and tallied three assists.
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Atkinson said the Cavs summoned two-way contract forward Luke Travers from the NBA G League Winter Showcase in Florida to give Cleveland depth against Chicago. Travers scored four points and grabbed four rebounds.
The Cavs also ruled out forward Evan Mobley (left calf strain), guard Sam Merrill (right hand sprain), forward/center Larry Nance Jr. (right calf strain), small forward Max Strus (offseason foot surgery) and forward Chris Livingston (two-way contract) against the Bulls.
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Nov 17, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) celebrates his three-point basket in the third quarter against the Milwaukee Bucks at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images
Donovan Mitchell stats
Although the Cavs have underachieved this season in a massive way, Mitchell has been a bright spot.
A six-time All-Star selection, Mitchell has appeared in 26 games and is averaging 30.7 points on 49.3% shooting from the field (38.3% on 3-pointers), 5.5 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 1.4 steals in 30.7 minutes.
Nate Ulrich is the sports columnist of the Akron Beacon Journal and a sports features writer. Nate can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com . On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich .
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cavs rule out Donovan Mitchell with illness vs Bulls
