Cleveland Cavaliers All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell shot his way into the NBA record books on Monday night in a matchup against the Chicago Bulls. The 26-year-old scored a career-high 71 points in an overtime victory, in which the Cavaliers won 145-134.
Mitchell was simply on fire in this one, scoring 21 points from distance and another 20 from the charity stripe. What may be most impressive, aside from obviously scoring 71, is the fact that he also had 11 assists on the night.
- Donovan Mitchell’s historic stat line: 22-of-34, 7-of-15 3PT, 20-of-25 FT, 71 PTS, 11 AST, 8 REB, 1 BLK, 4 TO
The previous team record for points was 57, set by both Ohio icon LeBron James and Kyrie Irving on separate occasions.
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Donovan Mitchell becomes fifth player since Wilt to score 70
Mitchell played superhero in every aspect of the overtime win in a legendary performance that he’ll never forget, including a putback layup to send the game to overtime. In the process, he made history, becoming just the seventh player ever to score 70 or more points in an NBA game and the fifth since Wilt Chamberlain’s heyday in the 1970s.
You’ll no doubt want to see the highlights from this memorable performance. While a full reel of all of his buckets has yet to be put together, here are the final moments of Mitchell’s performance of a lifetime.
Mitchell has taken his game to the next level since coming over to Cleveland via trade from the Utah Jazz. He came into the night averaging a career-high 28 points per game, helping the Cavs reach fourth place in the Western Conference. After tonight’s effort, Mitchell’s PPG rises to 29.2.
He may never have another game like this, but that’s ok. Not many players can say they’ve ever topped 50 or even 60 points, let alone 70.
It’s safe to say the Cavaliers are overwhelmingly pleased with their decision to trade for Mitchell this past offseason, giving up five first-round picks, plus Lauri Markkanen, Collin Sexton, and Ochai Agbaji in the process.
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