Cavs guard Donovan Mitchell delivers the EIGHTH highest scoring game in NBA history

By James On Jan 3, 2023

Amid a series of historic NBA performances by the league’s biggest stars, Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell stood out Monday by becoming the sixth player in NBA history to reach the plateau. than 70 points in a single game.

The only other players to score at least 71 in a game: Wilt Chamberlain (five times), Kobe Bryant, David Thompson, David Robinson and Elgin Baylor.

Additionally, Mitchell’s 71 points in Monday’s 145-134 overtime win over the Chicago Bulls is the most ever scored by a player under 6-foot-5.

In a season where big numbers have become the norm, Mitchell posted the biggest numbers of any Monday night, tying the second-highest scoring game the NBA has seen in nearly 45 years.

“This is crazy, to be honest,” said Mitchell, who had 55 of his points after halftime. “I am extremely blessed and honored to be in that company, in that group. I have always believed that I can be one of the best players in this league, but I have to keep working. This is a huge milestone, but at the end of the day, all of those guys have won at the highest level. That is my ultimate goal.

The most recent game over 71 points was Bryant’s 81-point masterpiece for the Los Angeles Lakers against Toronto on January 22, 2006. Before that, it was David Thompson’s 73-point game for Denver against Detroit on April 9, 2006. 1978.

“To be up there in the record books with them is really amazing,” Mitchell said.

His was the 12th 50-plus-point game in the NBA so far this season; Later Monday, Golden State’s Klay Thompson scored 54 in the Warriors’ double-overtime win over Atlanta, making it the 13th 50-point game of the season.

The video game numbers are coming in every night now. Before December 23, there were only four days in NBA history where five players scored at least 40 points in the same day.

NBA HIGH SCORING GAMES

1. 100 Wilt Chamberlain for the Philadelphia Warriors on March 2, 1962

2.81 Kobe Bryant for the Los Angeles Lakers on January 22, 2006

3. 78 Wilt Chamberlain for the Philadelphia Warriors on December 8, 1961*

T-4. 73 Wilt Chamberlain for the Philadelphia Warriors on January 13, 1962

T-4. 73 Wilt Chamberlain for the SF Warriors on November 16, 1962

T-4. 73 David Thompson for the Denver Nuggets on April 9, 1978*

7. 72 Wilt Chamberlain for the San Francisco Warriors on November 3, 1962*

T-8. 71 Elgin Baylor for the Los Angeles Lakers on November 15, 1960

T-8. 71 David Robinson for the San Antonio Spurs on April 24, 1994

T-8. 71 Donovan Mitchell for the Cleveland Cavaliers on January 2, 2023

* – denotes the lost game of the player’s team

Consider: that’s four days in 76 years.

It has happened three times in less than two weeks since then.

On Dec. 23, five players — Dallas’ Luka Doncic, Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid, Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, New York’s RJ Barrett and Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton — did it. A week later, Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James, Chicago’s Zach LaVine, New Orleans’ CJ McCollum and Golden State’s Jordan Poole combined to do it again.

And then on Monday, led by Mitchell and Thompson, it happened once again, with Chicago’s James, Embiid and DeMar DeRozan also scoring at least 40.

“I’ll say it again: honored to be at that company, honored to be in this position,” Mitchell said.

There have already been 87 games of at least 40 or more points this season, for a combined 33 players. Doncic has eight games of 40 or more, Embiid and Antetokounmpo each have seven, Boston’s Jayson Tatum has six. There were 119 games of 40 or more in the entire 2021-22 regular season; this season is not even half over yet and the players are already approaching that total.

Doncic’s 60-point game, which he had on December 27, was an NBA season high. It didn’t even last a week, not with Mitchell’s gem on Monday.

Mitchell missed his first shot. And his second of him. And his third of him. It took almost the entire first quarter for him to get a field goal attempt to finally go down.

“Keep working,” Mitchell said.

That is an understatement.

He scored five points in the first quarter, 11 more in the second quarter. Cleveland was being driven out of their building, having lost as many as 21 points and entering halftime trailing 65-47.

And then Mitchell was unstoppable: 24 points in the third, 18 more in the fourth, capped by him intentionally missing a free throw with 4.4 seconds remaining with the Cavs down by two, getting the rebound and scoring to tie the game and force the game. extra time. .

Then came the ending with a flourish: he didn’t miss a shot in the extra session, 4 of 4 from the field, 3 of 3 on three-pointers, 2 of 2 from the free throw line. He outscored the Bulls 13-4 by himself.

LeBron James and Kyrie Irving held the Cavaliers single-game record of 57 points, which, coincidentally, was the highest of Mitchell’s career prior to Monday, while he was playing for the Utah Jazz in a playoff game in the bubble. NBA restart in Florida in 2020. His career best in the regular season, before Monday, was 46.

The Cavs’ record now belongs to Mitchell, and probably will for a long time.

“In my 15 years, that’s the best performance I’ve ever seen, been a part of,” Cavaliers forward Kevin Love said. I’ve seen some specials.