Donovan Mitchell celebrates his 71-point game against Chicago (from the official Twitter account of the Cleveland Cavaliers)
The basketball world is still struggling to digest the unforgettable performance that Donovan Mitchell provided tonight (between Monday and Tuesday) in Cleveland's victory over Chicago, 134:145 after overtime.
When you see Mitchell's statistical line you have to rub your eyes to believe it: 71 points, 22 of 34 from the field, 7 of 15 from three, 20 of 25 from the free throw line - and all this alongside 11 assists and 8 rebounds, after his team was behind 21 points, when the load on him is many times greater in light of the deficiencies in the Cubs' roster.
The Cubs, who had to manage without the injured Darius Garland and Evan Mobley, needed every point and every move of Mitchell - and he delivered the goods in a big way.
"Spida" now signs only the seventh game in NBA history in which a player scores 70 points or more, and the most points in a single game since Kobe Bryant's 81 points in the famous game against Toronto in 2006.
Since then there has only been one player to reach 70 points, Devin Booker in 2017.
What sets Mitchell's performance apart from Bryant's and Booker's or other games on a historical scale is the exceptional efficiency.
By comparison, Kobe Bryant needed 46 shots to reach his 81 points, and Wilt Chamberlain, who holds the single-game scoring record that is unlikely to ever be broken, took 63 shots to reach 100 points.
Both in the case of Bryant and that of Devin Booker, allegations were made of excessive pursuit of the numbers and records.
Mitchell, on the other hand, took only 34 shots, was accurate at an exceptional percentage, and did it almost naturally in relation to how the game developed.
In fact, when you weigh the number of points for which Mitchell was directly responsible (in points or assists), you arrive at no less than 99 points - the second highest number ever.
Most Points in an NBA Game
100 - Wilt Chamberlain, March 1962
81 - Kobe Bryant, January 2006
78 - Wilt Chamberlain, December 1961
73 - David Thompson, April 1978
73 - Wilt Chamberlain, November 1962
73 - Wilt Chamberlain, January 1962
72 - Wilt Chamberlain, November 1962
71 - Donovan Mitchell, January 2023
without intending to.
Mitchell celebrates in Wilt Chamberlain style (photo: screenshot, from the Cleveland Cavaliers' Instagram page)
"I told the other players, 'Just move out of his way.'"
Mitchell with friends (Photo: GettyImages, Jason Miller)
"To enter the history books alongside a player like Wilt, it's the most exciting thing ever," said a happy Mitchell at the end.
"I always believed that I could become one of the best players in the league, and tonight I was left speechless. To be part of such a historic list? I just feel blessed."
Mitchell admitted that "even in NBA2K I didn't have a game like this. I may have scored a similar number of points, but not as efficiently, and in any case it ended in a loss. This time it feels much better."
Cleveland coach JB Bickerstaff said that "we got to see one of the greatest plays in the history of the game today. We needed a move that Donovan made today. On the way to those crazy numbers, he didn't put himself above the team for even one moment. That's what makes it even more Special. How can you not cheer for a guy like that? How can you not love him? When he got hot like that, I told the other players - 'Just get out of his way.'"
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Mitchell forced overtime with an acrobatic tying basket with 4 seconds left after an intentional foul -- just like Luka Doncic six days ago.
In overtime he took over the game completely and scored all 13 of the Cubs' points.
In all, he scored 55 points in the second half and overtime.
In addition, he also broke the points mark of a single Cleveland player all-time, which was jointly held by LeBron James and Kyrie Irving.
"I'm happy for Donovan. Records are meant to be broken, and I'm happy that he's the one who broke them," Irving congratulated, and said: "What's funny is that Donovan and I played 'Call of Duty' together in the afternoon, and he seemed so focused and purposeful that I knew he would He had a big game later. I could just see it on him."
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LeBron also flattered himself after the Lakers' victory and said that "in the NBA, many players talk about how they know how to put the basketball in the basket, but the great players really do it in high numbers. Donovan has proven that he is one of the best in the league at putting points on the board...if You get to 70 points, 60 and 50 - you have to be extremely talented. There's no doubt he'll never forget that game. He and his family."
Even Kevin Love, the only survivor of LeBron and Irving's championship-winning Cleveland, admitted that despite the many performances he had seen from the former two in the Cubs uniform, Mitchell's performance surpassed them all.
"I don't remember seeing anything like that. It was just amazing, and I don't think it can be replicated. LeBron and Kyrie gave amazing games here, but what Donovan did, it's just crazy," he said.
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Donovan Mitchell
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