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
- Fight against galamsey: Residents of Segyemase worried about destruction of their water bodies
9 mins - District Education leaders embark on Change Leadership Programme
18 mins - Black Stars midfielder Salis Abdul Samed signs one-year contract extension with Lens
47 mins - Chelsea reject Emerson Palmieri makes history with Conference League win
57 mins - Ecobank Ghana declares ¢27.21m loss in 2022 due to DDEP; to return to profitability in 2023
2 hours - Government working on a framework to regulate use of AI – Communications Minister
2 hours - GRA busts 6 businesses for failing to issue VAT invoices
2 hours - Germany, EU commit 16 million euros to support development of TVET in Ghana
2 hours - Special Prosecutor secures court order to arrest Charles Bissue
3 hours - Don’t touch Atewa forest – Experts warn government against mining in reserve
3 hours - Christiana Kotia
3 hours - Reducing CO2 emissions is a collective responsibility – Unilever Ghana
3 hours - ‘Sex for grades’ outlawed by Nigeria’s parliament
4 hours - Our priority should be on providing textbooks instead of tablets – Prof Owusu
4 hours - Jamie Foxx’s rep responds to conspiracy that COVID-19 vaccine caused hospitalisation
4 hours