MVP of the night | Donovan Mitchell is a legend

Even before the extension, Donovan Mitchell had already removed LeBron James and Kyrie Irving from the shelves! The All-Star guard had just scored his 58th point against the Bulls after scoring a miracle basket in overtime. That’s more than the Irving-LeBron duo, the holders of the Cleveland franchise record until then. Having been there for only two and a half months, it was already a sensational achievement.

But Donovan Mitchell would do one better… With full possession, he would fly in overtime and score 13 extra points to give the Cavaliers a 145-134 win. Cavaliers led by 21 points in the first half while winning by 11 points. Remarkable feat after Donovan Mitchell finished the game with 71 points!!! This is obviously his career high, but it is also the 6th best performance of all time. In 16 years and Kobe Bryant’s 81 points against the Raptors, no one has accomplished that feat.

With 71, Donovan Mitchell is tied with David Robinson and Elgin Baylor, and he’s just ahead of Devin Booker, who scored 70 in the loss to the Celtics. He is the first player in history to score 70 points and 10 assists. He is also the smallest player (1m85) to reach 70 points.

“Finding yourself in the record books with guys like Wilt is a real lesson in humility.”Donovan Mitchell said. “I always believed I could be one of the best players in the league. I am speechless and privileged to be with the greatest. »

Kyrie Irving and LeBron James tribute

From a distance, Donovan Mitchell, who scored 57 points for Cleveland, received congratulations from Kyrie Irving and LeBron James. “That’s good. Records are made to be broken.” the leader reacts. “I’m glad he did. The funny thing here is that I played Call Of Duty with it just before the game. We were on the same team and I could tell he was determined! »

LeBron James discovered Donovan Mitchell’s incredible performance last night on Charlotte’s side, where he scored 43 points. A former Jazz player, then a player he has always watched closely since he was on the set of The Decision as a teenager.

“I haven’t seen the highlights of the game yet, but the guy must have been on fire” The Lakers superstar comments. “We’re in a game where a lot of guys say they can score … Some of the best guys do … Tonight, Donovan showed he’s one of the best. Every time you score 70, 60, 50, 40… We know you are extremely good at what you do. This is definitely something that he and his family will never forget.”

He participated in 99 points of his team!

Impressively, Donovan Mitchell is even close to a triple-double as he adds 11 assists and 8 rebounds! Coming in with 99 points for his team, he even gained momentum in minutes, scoring 18 in the 4th quarter and then 13 in overtime.

“For our part, we consider this one of the greatest performances in the history of this sport” Cleveland coach JB Bickerstaff believes. “Every action of his was necessary. Donovan has never put himself above the team, and how can you not be behind him? At one point I said to others: get out of his way! »

The action symbol of this performance is this basket to grab the extension. With three seconds left and Donovan Mitchell voluntarily misses a free throw, he goes for the offensive rebound himself and hits the snack basket. Then we told ourselves that nothing more could happen to him. Nor to the Cavaliers for that matter. Because the most important thing is that Cleveland wins.

“I think I’ve had a game like this before in NBA2K, but I don’t think I played that well” laughs the superhero of the evening.“And I was defeated again… I was silent. Not just because of what I did, but because I did it to get us back in the game and win. This is crazy! »