Donovan Mitchell scores 71 as Cleveland Cavaliers catch Chicago Bulls in NBA
Donovan Mitchell scored a mammoth 71 points to lead Cleveland to a comeback win over Chicago. Photo: Getty
Donovan Mitchell scored an NBA season high and club-record 71 points as Cleveland Cavaliers rallied from 21 down to beat Chicago Bulls 145-134 in overtime.
It was the eighth-highest individual tally in history and the largest since Lakers legend Kobe Bryant scored 81 points against Toronto in 2006.
Mitchell scored 13 points in the extra session after forcing overtime in Cleveland by grabbing his own intentionally missed free throw and making a circus-shot with three seconds left.
The former Utah Jazz standout drained a triple to begin overtime to claim Cleveland’s point-scoring record and give them their first lead.
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Wilt Chamberlain owns the NBA record with 100 points for Philadelphia against New York in 1962.
“I’ve never been witness to a performance like that live,” Cavs coach JB Bickerstaff said.
“We were treated tonight to one of the greatest performances in the history of the NBA.”
Mitchell also had an equal career-high 11 assists and eight rebounds in 50 minutes, also setting personal bests with 20 free throws made and 25 free throws attempted.
DeMar DeRozan scored 44 points, Zach LeVine had 26 and Nikola Vucevic added 20 points and 13 rebounds for Chicago.
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Meanwhile, Klay Thompson scored 54 points, but it was Kevon Looney’s put-back off his miss that was the difference as Golden State beat Atlanta 143-141 in double overtime in San Francisco.
Trae Young finished with 30 points, 14 assists and seven rebounds for the Hawks, but shot at just 36 per cent.
A hamstring injury was all that could stop Zion Williamson’s dominance of Philadelphia, the 76ers running away 120-111 winners after the New Orleans star was hobbled.
Joel Embiid had 42 points and 11 rebounds on his home court, James Harden scored 27 and Williamson scored 26 points on 10-of-12 shooting through three quarters before he left for the locker room.
There was no immediate word on whether Williamson would miss any coming games.
Without Williamson, the Pelicans couldn’t keep up with the 76ers, with Embiid’s eighth game this season of at least 35 points and 10 rebounds earning him “MVP! MVP!” chants from the stands.
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Elsewhere, Kyrie Irving made his first seven shots and scored 27 points as Brooklyn Nets beat San Antonio Spurs 139-103 at home for their 12th straight victory.
Kevin Durant added 25 points and 11 assists for the Nets (25-12), who have ridden the longest winning streak in the NBA this season to pull within a game of Boston for having the best record in the league.
Australian Ben Simmons had nine assists, six rebounds, four points and three steals to be plus-22 for the Nets in 23 minutes of court time.
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Luka Doncic scored 39 points as Dallas overcame an 18-point deficit to win 111-106 at Houston.
Julius Randle had 28 points and 16 rebounds to lead the New York Knicks to a 102-83 home win over Phoenix, who have lost six of their past seven games.
And LeBron James scored 43 points to move within to 500 of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s NBA career scoring record, Los Angeles avenging last month’s home loss to Charlotte with a 121-115 win on the road.
-with AP