© Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
The Chicago Bulls vs. Cleveland Cavaliers game on January 15 is touted as a "can't-miss" game
The Chicago Bulls must surely have their January 15 match-up against Central Division rivals Cleveland Cavaliers encircled on their calendar as it offers them the chance for payback after losing 145-134 in overtime in what forever would be known as the Donovan Mitchell game.
In that game, Cleveland's All-Star guard etched his name in the record books by scoring 71 points, the most for any player in the last 17 seasons of the Association. Mitchell made the feat sweeter by rallying the Cavs from a 21-point deficit to take the win before a raucous crowd at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
Collapse
It was a stunning defeat for the Bulls, which got a whopping 90 combined points from its "Big 3" of DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, and Nikola Vucevic. DeRozan led the charge with 44 big points as the Bulls looked poise to come away with a win, never trailing in regulation, before collapsing down the stretch.
Mitchell's 71-point explosion was the eighth-highest individual scoring output in league history. It was also the most since the late great Kobe Bryant scored 81 points against Toronto in early 2006.
Encore?
Can Mitchell recreate the magic from that game, or will the Bulls shut him down and gain their revenge? These backstories have made this particular game a must-see one, according to NBA.com's Brian Martin.
"Can Donovan Mitchell recreate the magic he had against Chicago last season when he dropped 71 points in a 145-134 overtime win over the Bulls? Not only was that a career-high and franchise record for points, but Mitchell also became just the sixth player in league history to score at least 71 points in a game, joining Wilt Chamberlain, Kobe Bryant, David Thompson, Elgin Baylor and David Robinson, with Damian Lillard joining the club less than two months later," Martin wrote.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CL6dcNZWkFY&pp=ygUeYnVsbHMgdnMgY2F2cyBkb25vdmFuIG1pdGNoZWxs
