Donovan Mitchell Wins With a Season-high and Franchise-best 71 Points
Donovan Mitchell miraculously brought the depleted Cleveland Cavaliers back from a double-digit deficit with an NBA season-high 71 points on 22-of-34 field goal shooting to beat the Chicago Bulls and ring in the New Year at Rocket Morgage FieldHouse.
“I had to do a little something with Darius [Garland] being out,” Mitchell told Bally Sports Ohio’s Serena Winters with a grin following the performance.
“First and foremost, my teammates, we fought. I know I had 70 and all, but I wouldn’t be here without them. We wouldn’t have been in this position without our guys making crucial plays,” Mitchell said. “That’s the honest truth. We didn’t come out too great to start the first half. (Cavs head coach) J.B. [Bickerstaff] threw some stuff around, screamed at us a little bit, told us to lock-in, and we all did it as a group. My teammates put me in the right positions and I just made the plays.”
“But you know, I hope people don’t overlook that he had 11 assists and 8 rebounds as well. Four turnovers (laughs). That’s just, I mean, Don… I think I’ve told you guys time and time again, but his process, the way he works, how he takes care of his body, how locked in he is, he means everything to this team,” Love added. “I was saying, our group text from 2016, I was like, ‘What was Donovan’s asking price?’ That was something special tonight. He’s one of what, seven players that have scored over 70? That’s elite company, I can only imagine those names.”
Mitchell contributed to 99 of the Cavaliers’ total points by generating 28 points off of 11 assists for his teammates. According to OptaSTATS, that is the second-highest mark behind Wilt Chamberlain’s NBA record of 104.
“Just miss the free throw the right way. I actually work on it… I’m lying,” Mitchell joked. “Shout out to my guys. They had to box out the bigs. No one boxed me out, and I ran in just trying to make the play… Crazy series of events. I appreciate the trust [J.B.] has in me. It’s a wild finish. Sometimes you’ve just gotta laugh it off and just go out there and continue to do what you’ve gotta do.”
Mitchell scored a whopping 55 of his points in the second half and overtime to propel Cleveland to back-to-back victories over its Central Division rival, as the wine-and-gold faithful once more showered him with MVP chants (with Cedi Osman leading the crowd).
“He was determined to convey that this team and succeeding are his top priorities. Not enough words are available… I’ve never been a witness to a performance like that live,” Speaking following the game, Bickerstaff. “We may have seen something similar on television in the past, but tonight we were treated to one of the greatest NBA performances ever.”
Mitchell made 20 of 25 free throw attempts in the contest, including 7 of 15 from beyond the arc.
Quite impressively, he had to give himself a chance to pull it off with a putback off an intentional miss from the charity stripe, much like Luka Doncic did last week. In the extra period, Mitchell would score 13 points to win the game at 130 apiece.
“Just make sure to miss the free throw correctly. I actually put effort into it… I’m lying,” Mitchell joked. “They had to box out the bigs, so shout out to my guys. I ran in just to try to make the play without anyone boxing me out… A bizarre chain of events. I value J.B.’s confidence.] has in me. It’s a wild finish, but sometimes you just have to laugh it off and carry on doing what you have to do.”
The 71 points Mitchell scored are a franchise record for the Cavaliers, and he is the seventh NBA player to ever score 70 points in a game.
“It’s humbling. I’m speechless to best honest with you when you say that,” Mitchell told reporters. “For me, not only did I do that, but I did it in an effort where we came back and won. And it’s how we won. It’s like, man, this is… nuts (laughs) to be honest.
“I’m extremely blessed and humbled that I’m in that company, in that group. I’ve always believed I could be one of the best players in this league, but I’ve gotta keep working. This is a big milestone, but at the end of the day, we’ve gotta continue… those guys have all won at the highest level and that’s my ultimate goal. But to be there with them in the record books is just truly incredible.”
“Honestly, it was just finding a way to win,” Mitchell said. “I told J.B., ‘Don’t take me out. I’m gonna try to just find a way to lead us in every aspect.’ Like I said, some nights it’s putting the ball in the basket, some nights it’s defense, some nights it’s just finding guys and just try to find different things… I’m just truly blessed and humbled that we got the W, that’s all that matters.”
News source: basketballnews.com
