Mitchell scores 29 and the Cavaliers beat the Pelicans 131-122 for their first 9-0 start

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Donovan Mitchell scored 29 points and the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 131-122 on Wednesday night to open 9-0 for the first time in their 55-year NBA history.

Caris LeVert and Jarrett Allen each added 16 points, and Allen grabbed 14 rebounds as the Cavaliers surpassed an 8-0 start by the 1976-77 squad that finished 43-39 under coach Bill Fitch.

Zion Williamson returned from a two-game absence and had 29 points for the Pelicans. He temporarily took himself out after playing 10 minutes, but returned to start the second half and scored 23 after halftime.

Jose Alvarado hit all seven 3-pointers he took and finished with 27 points for New Orleans. Brandon Ingram added 20 points for the Pelicans, who have lost three straight and six of seven.

Cavaliers: Cleveland had no trouble rallying back from an early 12-point deficit on the road and did so in part by shooting 54.2% overall, including 48.6% from 3-point range.

Pelicans: The injury-depleted Pelicans played with effort but simply lacked the firepower needed to hang with the hottest team in the NBA for a full 48 minutes.

After Alvarado's back-to-back 3s made it 112-106, Mitchell responded with a hesitation move in the lane and a floater to make it 114-106 and stem the Pelicans' momentum with 5:20 left. Cleveland kept New Orleans at arm's length from then on.

Cleveland got 50 points from reserves, led by LeVert and Ty Jerome (11 points).

The Cavaliers play at home Friday against the Golden State Warriors, who own the best start in NBA history at 24-0 in 2015-16.

The Pelicans visit Orlando on Friday night.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

New Orleans Pelicans head coach Willie Green reacts to a call in the first half of an NBA basketball game against the New Orleans Pelicans in New Orleans, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

New Orleans Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram (14) leaps for a rebound over Cleveland Cavaliers forward Isaac Okoro (35) in the first half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Cleveland Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley blocks a shot by New Orleans Pelicans center Yves Missi (21) in the first half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

New Orleans Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram (14) shoots against Cleveland Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley (4) in the first half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Caris LeVert (3) shoots against New Orleans Pelicans guard Jordan Hawkins (24) and forward Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (50) in the first half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Caris LeVert (3) battles between New Orleans Pelicans forward Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (50) and guard Jordan Hawkins (24) in the first half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are careening through a manic Monday after President Donald Trump threatened to crank his tariffs higher, despite a stunning display from Wall Street showing how dearly it wants him to do the opposite.

The S&P 500 was down 0.8% in late trading, but only after a shocking day of heart-racing reversals as battered financial markets try to figure out what Trump’s ultimate goal is for his trade war. If it’s to get other countries to agree to trade deals, he could lower his tariffs and avoid a possible recession. But if it’s to remake the economy and stick with tariffs for the long haul, stock prices may need to fall further.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 563 points, or 1.5%, with a little less than an hour remaining in trading, while the Nasdaq composite was 0.6% lower.

All three indexes started the day sharply lower, and the Dow plunged as many as 1,700 points following even worse losses worldwide on worries that Trump's tariffs could torpedo the global economy. But it suddenly surged to a gain of nearly 900 points. The S&P 500, meanwhile, went from a loss of 4.7% to a leap of 3.4%, which would have been its biggest jump in years.

The sudden rise followed a false rumor that Trump was considering a 90-day pause on his tariffs, one that a White House account on X quickly labeled as “fake news.” Stocks then turned back down. That a rumor could move trillions of dollars' worth of investments shows how much investors are hoping to see signs that Trump may let up on tariffs.

But soon after that, Trump threatened to raise tariffs further against China after the world's second-largest economy retaliated last week with its own set of tariffs on U.S. products.

It’s a slap in the face to Wall Street, not just because of the sharp losses it’s taking, but because it suggests Trump may not be moved by its pain. Many professional investors had long thought that a president who used to crow about records reached under his watch would pull back on policies if they sent the Dow reeling.

On Sunday Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that he does not want markets to fall. But he also said he wasn’t concerned about a sell-off, saying “sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something.”

Trump has given several reasons for his stiff tariffs, including to bring manufacturing jobs back to the United States, which is a process that could take years. Trump on Sunday said he wanted to bring down the numbers for how much more the United States imports from other countries versus how much it sends to them.

Still, indexes kept swerving between losses and gains Monday, even after Trump threatened to raise his tariffs, because hope still remains in markets that negotiations may still come.

“Could things get worse? Of course they could," said Nate Thooft, a senior portfolio manager at Manulife Investment Management. “We’re not calling the all-clear at all, but when you have this type of volatility in the market, of course you're going to have back and forth” in markets not just day to day but also hour to hour.

“We’re all waiting for the next bit of information,” he said. “Literally a Truth Social tweet or an announcement of some sort about real negotiations could dramatically move this market. This is the world we live in right now.”

All that seems to be certain is that the financial pain hammered investments around the world on Monday, the third straight day of steep losses after Trump announced tariffs in his “Liberation Day.”

Stocks in Hong Kong plunged 13.2% for their worst day since 1997. A barrel of benchmark U.S. crude oil dipped below $60 during the morning for the first time since 2021, hurt by worries that a global economy weakened by trade barriers will burn less fuel. Bitcoin sank below $79,000, down from its record above $100,000 set in January, after holding steadier than other markets last week.

Nike dropped 4% for one of the larger losses on Wall Street. Not only does it sell a lot of shoes and apparel in China, it also makes much of it there. Last fiscal year, factories in China made 18% of its Nike brand footwear. Vietnam made 50%, and Indonesia made 27%.

Trump’s tariffs are an attack on the globalization that’s remade the world’s economy, which helped bring down prices for products on the shelves of U.S. stores but also caused production jobs to leave for other countries.

It also adds pressure on the Federal Reserve. Investors have become nearly conditioned to expect the central bank to swoop in as a hero by slashing interest rates during downturns.

But the Fed may have less freedom to act this time around because the conditions are so much different. That's cheifly because inflation is higher at the moment than the Fed would like. And while lower interest rates can goose the economy, they can also put upward pressure on inflation. Expectations for inflation are already swinging higher because of Trump’s tariffs, which would likely raise prices for anything imported.

“The recent tariffs will likely increase inflation and are causing many to consider a greater probability of a recession,” JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, one of the most influential executives on Wall Street, wrote in his annual letter to shareholders Monday. “Whether or not the menu of tariffs causes a recession remains in question, but it will slow down growth.”

In the bond market, Treasury yields rallied Monday to recover some of their sharp drops from earlier weeks. Some of the big move may have been because of reduced expectations for cuts to interest rates by the Fed. Some analysts also said it could be due to investors outside of the United States wanting to pare their U.S. investments.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury jumped to 4.14% from 4.01% late Friday.

Earlier in the day, the S&P 500 briefly fell more than 20% below its record set less than two months ago. If it finishes a day below that bar, it would be a big enough drop that Wall Street has a name for it. A “bear market” signifies a downturn that’s moved beyond a run-of-the-mill 10% drop, which happens every year or so, and has graduated into something more vicious.

The S&P 500, which sits at the heart of many investors’ 401(k) accounts, is coming off its worst week since COVID began crashing the global economy in March 2020.

Kurtenbach reported from Bangkok. McHugh reported from Frankfurt, Germany. Associated Press writers Ayaka McGill, Paul Harloff, Matt Ott and Jiang Junzhe also contributed.

An electronic display shows financial information on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Federico DeMarco works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Chris Lagana works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Traders work on the options floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

While a stock exchange trader sits in front of his monitors on the trading floor of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, Germany, the display board with the Dax curve shows a value of less than 20,000 points. (Arne Dedert/dpa via AP)

While a stock exchange trader sits in front of his monitors on the trading floor of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, Germany, the display board with the Dax curve shows a value of less than 20,000 points. (Arne Dedert/dpa via AP)

Currency traders work near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, top center, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

An electronic stock board shows that Nikkei stock average dropped over 2,900 Japanese yen in Tokyo Monday, April 7, 2025. (Kyodo News via AP)

Currency traders work near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, top right, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A person walks past an electronic stock board in Tokyo Monday, April 7, 2025. (Kyodo News via AP)

Currency traders watch monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, top center, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

US President Donald Trump appears on a television screen at the stock market in Frankfurt, Germany, Thursday, April 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

A screen displays financial news as traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Thursday, April 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)