Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell scored a stunning 71 points — tying the eighth-most in an NBA game — as the Cavaliers erased a 21-point deficit to beat the Chicago Bulls 145-134 in overtime on Monday.
Mitchell’s performance was the highest single-game point total since Lakers great Kobe Bryant scored 81 against Toronto in 2006.
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Wilt Chamberlain holds the single-game goalscoring record with 100 for Philadelphia against the New York Knicks on March 2, 1962.
Mitchell became just the seventh player to score 70 or more points in a game.
He’s the first Cavs player to have a 60-point regular-season game — and he’s dished out 11 assists and grabbed eight rebounds to start.
“First and foremost, my teammates,” Mitchell said in an on-court interview after the game, during which he received rapturous cheers from Cavs fans.
“I know I scored 70 points and everything, but I wouldn’t be here without them. We wouldn’t be in this position without the guys making crucial plays and that’s the honest truth.
The Bulls led up to 21 in the second quarter and up to 18 in the third.
The Cavs recovered, however, and Mitchell forced overtime when he grabbed the rebound from his own intentionally missed free throw and drained an unlikely layup with three seconds remaining.
“We were treated to one of the greatest performances in NBA history tonight,” Cavaliers coach JB Bickerstaff said.
Mitchell made 22 of 34 shots from the field, forcing seven three-pointers as he carried a Cavs team that was without star guard Darius Garland and forward Evan Mobley.
DeMar DeRozan scored 44 points for the Bulls – who have never trailed in regulation.
Mitchell scored 13 points in overtime — including the three-point pullback to open the extra session that put the Cavaliers up for the first time — and for good.
“It’s humbling,” Mitchell said of his position as one of the game’s greats. “Not only did I do this, but I did it in an effort where we came back and won.”
There was drama in San Francisco where Klay Thompson scored a season-high 54 points as the defending league champions, the improving Golden State Warriors, beat the Atlanta Hawks 143-141 after a double extension.
The Warriors, still without injured star Stephen Curry, have now won five straight games at home, but they had to work for victory against struggling Atlanta.
After the Hawks’ Trae Young tied the game with eight seconds left in the second overtime, Thompson’s effort went off the rim and Kevon Looney tipped on the second attempt.
Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James opened the new year in style, scoring 43 points in a 121-115 win over the Charlotte Hornets.
Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid had 42 points and 11 rebounds in a 120-111 win over the New Orleans Pelicans, who lost star forward Zion Williamson to injury to the hamstrings.
Dallas star Luka Doncic scored 39 points with 12 rebounds and eight assists in the Mavericks’ 111-106 win over the Rockets in Houston.
James, who celebrated his 38th birthday on Friday with a 47-point outburst in the Lakers’ win at Atlanta, followed that up with another stellar night in Charlotte.
His five free throws in the final 24.4 seconds effectively clinched the win.
Before that, he delighted Charlotte fans with a pair of alley-oop dunks – including a reverse jam on a pass from Dennis Schroeder.
The four-time NBA champion is now 484 points behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s total of 38,387.
James carries an additional load for the Lakers since Anthony Davis was sidelined with a foot injury. Russell Westbrook left the game with pain in his left foot in the first quarter.
Thomas Bryant scored 18 points and pulled out 15 rebounds and Austin Reaves and Schroder scored 15 points apiece as the Lakers capped a five-game road trip with a second straight win after losing the first three.
“We needed it at the end of a road trip,” said James, who was effective 16 of 26 from the field and grabbed 11 rebounds. a victory.”
In Philadelphia, the Sixers avenged an 11-point loss to the Pelicans in New Orleans on Friday.
The 76ers, who were also boosted by 27 points from James Harden, pushed their best league home winning streak to 10 games.
Embiid, listed as doubtful before the game with lower back pain, had a scare late with a fall under the basket that left him walking cautiously towards the huddle.
Elsewhere, the Brooklyn Nets extended their winning streak to 12 games with a 139-103 loss to the San Antonio Spurs.
The Minnesota Timberwolves ended a six-game skid with a 124-111 win over the Western Conference-leading Denver Nuggets.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)