Donovan Mitchell, who was already an All-Star, Monday night added his name to one of the NBA’s most exclusive lists.
The Cleveland Cavaliers came back from 21 points down to defeat the Chicago Bulls 145-134 in overtime on Monday night, thanks in large part to Mitchell, who established a franchise record with 71 points, the most by an NBA player in 17 years.
Since Lakers icon Kobe Bryant scored 81 points against Toronto on January 22, 2006, Mitchell’s total ranks as the eighth-highest in league history. The NBA record is held by Wilt Chamberlain, who scored 100 points for Philadelphia versus New York on March 2, 1962, at Hershey, Pennsylvania.
Later, Mitchell was showered with water by his teammates, and forward Cedi Osman took to the court with a microphone to start chanting “M-V-P, M-V-P!”
Mitchell tied the game at 130-all then broke the Cleveland record with 58 points after forcing overtime by grabbing his own purposefully missed free throw and making a circus shot with 3.0 seconds left. Mitchell scored 13 points in the extra session.
Mitchell joined the 70-point club in overtime, moving up to position seven. Bryant, David Thompson, Elgin Baylor, David Robinson, and Devin Booker each made it to the milestone once, compared to six for Chamberlain.