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Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Donovan Mitchell went absolutely bonkers on Monday night, scoring an incredible 71 points against the Chicago Bulls in an overtime victory for the ages.
With a towel strewn over his shoulders, and still in his uniform after the game, Donovan Mitchell wearily took a seat and looked at the boxscore that had been placed in front of him.
Someone standing nearby asked if he needed anything, and Mitchell politely declined.
“I’m good,” Mitchell said. “I’m as good as can be.”
Hours before he took the floor in Cleveland, Donovan Mitchell was at home playing “Call of Duty” with Kyrie Irving.
According to the Brooklyn Nets star, it was easy to tell Mitchell was “locked in.”
He achieved the eighth-most points scored in a single game in league history and the most scored in a game this season.
The Bulls led through most of the contest Monday night and took an 18-point lead at the break. It wasn’t until overtime that the Cavaliers took their first lead of the game. It took a wild sequence from Mitchell to get there.
Mitchell was at the free-throw line with less than five seconds to go in regulation and the Cavaliers down by two. There, he channeled his best Luka Doncic and expertly missed his free throw, got his own rebound and somehow tipped the shot back in to tie it.
Mitchell scored a franchise-record 71 points to lead the Cavaliers back from a 21-point hole to beat the Chicago Bulls in overtime on Monday night at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
In a move that rocked the NBA on September 1, the Cavaliers acquired three-time All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell from the Utah Jazz for Collin Sexton, Lauri Markkanen, Ochai Agbaji, three first-round picks and rights to swap picks, two people with knowledge of the trade told USA TODAY Sports.
The 71 points are also the most scored since Los Angeles Lakers icon Kobe Bryant dropped 81 points on the Toronto Raptors in 2006.