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CLEVELAND — Donovan Mitchell once likened speaking with a then-teenage Mikel Brown Jr. to talking hoops with James Harden, marveling at his protege’s maturity and basketball IQ.

Saturday night, Brown got his first chance to suit up for real against both Mitchell and Harden. The Nets rookie finally got to play against his mentor in a game that mattered — and got to face the future Hall of Famer Harden for good measure in the Nets game at Cleveland.

“Shoot, it’s great,” Brown, 20, said beforehand. “They’re obviously coming off a loss as well, just as we are, so they’re going to come in hungry. But to be able to play against Don was kind of crazy. The time went by.…