Scoring a franchise-record 71 points, guard Donovan Mitchell led the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 145-134 overtime victory over the Chicago Bulls on Monday night.
Following the 3-time All-Star shooting guard's historic performance, which tied Elgin Baylor (1960) and David Robinson (1994) for the eighth highest-scoring game by a player in NBA history, it did not take long for reaction across the league and from some of Mitchell's teammates to pour in on social media.
That included a tweet from one of the two players who most previously laid claim to Cleveland's single-game scoring record, LeBron James, who scored 57 points in 201. Kyrie Irving totaled 57 points of his own in 2015.
Rarefield of Record Breakers
It was the most points in a game by any player since Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant had 81 against Toronto on Jan. 22, 2006. Wilt Chamberlain owns the NBA record with 100 for Philadelphia against New York on March 2, 1962, at Hershey, Pennsylvania.
Also, Mitchell became the seventh player in NBA history to score 70 or more points in a game. The Cavaliers star join Wilt Chamberlain, Kobe Bryant, David Thompson, David Robinson, Elgin Baylor, and Devin Booker in the illustrious 70-point club.
Monday's feat was the 12th 70-point game in NBA history, as Chamberlain reached that figure six times.
Consistently Consistent
Mitchell was already having the best season of his career by far for a Cleveland team in the hunt for the top seed in the Eastern Conference. He is averaging a career-high 28 points per game while flirting with 50-40-90 shooting split. This game was the crown jewel of his incredible season, the best game of not only his own career, but one of the best any player has ever had in the history of basketball.