Audio By Carbonatix
A 70-point game is a rarity in the NBA: just 11 in league history, heading into 2023.
Make it 12. Monday night, Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell did the unimaginable, erupting for a career-high 71 points to notch an incredible 145-134 overtime victory against the Chicago Bulls.
He becomes just the seventh player in NBA history to score 70 or more in a game, and the first since Devin Booker in 2017. Mitchell’s total marked the most points in a game by any player since Kobe Bryant’s 81 in January 2006.
Mitchell, who is playing his first season in Cleveland after being traded from Utah during the offseason, set a new scoring record for the Cavaliers, breaking the mark previously co-held by LeBron James and Kyrie Irving (57 points).
The 26-year-old guard looked unstoppable when his team needed him most. After making his first free throw to cut the lead to two with 4.4 seconds left, Mitchell intentionally missed his second attempt, only to grab the miss and hit a layup to tie things up at 130 apiece. Chicago’s DeMar DeRozan looked to silence Cleveland fans at the buzzer but missed a long 3-pointer, leaving overtime to decide the outcome.
Mitchell needed 13 points in the extra period to complete his 71-point outpour. He also finished the game with eight rebounds and 11 assists; no player to score 70 prior had also dished double-digits.
After the game, Mitchell’s teammates were ready to celebrate the epic performance and the victory, dousing him with plenty of water while players from around the league praised his performance from afar on social media.
Latest Stories
-
US film stars Meagan Good and Jonathan Majors become Guinea citizens after DNA tests
25 minutes -
He once criticised African leaders who cling to power. Now Museveni wants a 7th term
36 minutes -
Malaysia and Indonesia block Musk’s Grok over sexually explicit deepfakes
46 minutes -
US Justice Department opens criminal probe into Fed chair Jerome Powell
56 minutes -
Meta blocks 550,000 accounts under Australia’s social media ban
1 hour -
Golden Globes 2026: The full list of winners and nominees
2 hours -
‘Big personality’ Martinelli goes from ‘idiot’ to hat-trick hero
5 hours -
‘Fragile’ Manchester United set for fewest games in season since 1914/15
6 hours -
Musk says X outcry is ‘excuse for censorship’
6 hours -
Armwrestling Supermatch: Sackey, Acquah and Yeboah thrill fans in Accra
6 hours -
Sweden to invest $1.6 billion in air defence systems
6 hours -
GPL 2025/26: John Antwi scores in Dreams’ hammering of Heart of Lions
6 hours -
GOC, CSG unveil four-year strategic plan for sustainable sporting success
6 hours -
Bride and groom killed by gas explosion day after Pakistan wedding
6 hours -
Hollywood stars battle for trophies at Sunday’s Golden GlobesÂ
6 hours
