Donovan Mitchell, a shooting guard for the Cleveland Cavaliers, had one of the best games in NBA history on Monday and Kevin Love made a statement. Mitchell ended with a Cavs franchise-record 71 points on 64.7% shooting in Cleveland’s 145-134 overtime victory over Chicago.
In doing so, Donovan Mitchell surpassed NBA great Kobe Bryant’s epic 81-point effort from nearly 17 years ago as the top individual scorer.
Mitchell went close to a triple-double of 70 points by adding eight rebounds and 11 assists on top of that. Naturally, Donovan Mitchell’s outstanding performance won over the hearts of many. Veteran Cavs forward Kevin Love expressed his admiration for his teammate in a rather forthright manner.
Kevin Love declared Donovan Mitchell’s 71-point performance to be the finest he had ever seen in his whole career following the Cavs’ victory. Kevin Love remarked, “In my fifteen years, that’s the finest performance I’ve ever seen.”
Given that Kevin Love has played alongside several NBA players over the course of his 15-year career, this is a very high compliment. LeBron James and Kyrie Irving, former Cavaliers stars, are included in this. However, considering the historic significance of Donovan Mitchell’s performance, most people would concur that it’s hard to disagree with Love on this point.
J.B. Bickerstaff, the Cavs’ coach, on Donovan Mitchell’s historic performance
Kevin Love wasn’t the first Cavaliers player to assert something shocking about Donovan Mitchell. After Donovan Mitchell’s historic performance, Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff said that he wasn’t sure how many players in the NBA could match his feat.
Bickerstaff remarked, “I don’t know how many men in our league can do what he did tonight.”
The statistics undoubtedly support Bickerstaff’s statements. Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns, an All-Star shooting guard, is the only other player who is still playing who has scored 70 points in a game. Against Boston on March 24, 2017, Booker scored precisely 70 points.
The next-highest scoring effort by an active player after Booker’s 70-point outing came from Golden State Warriors superstar point guard Steph Curry. On January 3, 2021, Curry scored 62 points against Portland. It is obvious that a certain kind of player is required to pull off a scoring effort of this magnitude.
Additionally, Bickerstaff noted that for the Cavaliers to be able to seal the victory, Donovan Mitchell had to make each and every basket. He just let Mitchell take over after realising that he was enjoying a fantastic evening.
“Tonight, we witnessed one of the best performances in the history of the sport. Every every play that he made was essential,” according to Bickerstaff.
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