Cavaliers Guard Donovan Mitchell Drops 71 Points in Win Over Bulls

The former Louisville men’s basketball standout scored the most points in an NBA game in 17 years.

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Less than a week after Luka Doncic’s historic 60-21-10 outing, former Louisville men's basketball standout and current NBA superstar Donovan Mitchell turned in a performance that rivals Doncic’s for the best of the 2022-23 NBA season.

Facing the Bulls on Monday night, the Cavaliers shooting guard put together a career night, dropping 71 points, 11 rebounds and eight assistants to lead Cleveland to a 145-134 overtime victory over Chicago. He shot 22-of-34 from the field and 7-of-15 on three-point attempts.

Not only was it a career-high in points for Mitchell, but it was the most points by an NBA players since Kobe Bryant’s 81-point game against the Raptors on Jan. 22, 2006. He also tied Elgin Baylor and David Robinson for the eighth-most points in a single game, and broke Cleveland’s franchise record for individual points in a game, 57, previously held by LeBron James.

Acquired from the Utah Jazz in a blockbuster trade over the offseason, the 6-foot-1, 215-pound shooting guard is well on his way to earring yet another NBA All-Star nod. Entering the matchup with the Bulls, Mitchell was already averaging a career-high 28.0 points per game, with his 48.4 field goal percentage and 41.1 three-point percentage also on pace to be the best in his six-year career. He’s also averaging 4.6 assists and 3.8 assists per game.

Spending the first five years of his NBA career in Salt Lake City, the Greenwich, Conn. native experienced nothing but personal success from day one. In 345 career games with the Jazz, Mitchell averaged 23.9 points, 4.2 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game, getting named an NBA All-Star in 2020, 2021 and 2022. He is currently in year three of a five-year, $195 million designated rookie max extension that was signed after the 2020 NBA Playoffs.

Mitchell was drafted with the No. 13 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft by the Nuggets, only to be traded to the Jazz on draft night. As a sophomore at Louisville, Mitchell averaged 15.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.7 assists en route to being named a 2016-17 First Team All-ACC selection.

(Photo of Donovan Mitchell: Ken Blaze - USA TODAY Sports)

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