Cleveland Cavaliers

It was a high-scoring night in the NBA on Monday as both Donovan Mitchell and LeBron James set points records.

Mitchell broke James’ previous Cavaliers record of 57 points in a game. Mitchell was soaked with water by his teammates at the end of the game, while his coach J.B. I’m speechless and blessed to be in the company of that greatness.”

Just minutes earlier, in the locker room following the Cleveland Cavaliers' 145-134 overtime win over the Chicago Bulls, the Cavs wrote the number 71 on a sheet ...

“His process, the way he works, how he takes care of his body, how locked in he is, he means everything to this team,” Love said. [Jazz](https://theathletic.com/nba/team/jazz/). [Cedi Osman](https://theathletic.com/nba/player/cedi-osman-XMgt1vrqTqK58yG4/) took the mic and started the M-V-P chant, which became deafening in Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. I think that’s the way I feel, that’s the way all the coaches feel, and his teammates feel that way, also.” The made the free throw with four seconds left in regulation to put the Cavs down two points proved to be a moment of clarity for Mitchell. It played into Bickerstaff’s decision to leave Mitchell in for the entirety of the second half. Mitchell scored only five points in the first quarter, and 16 total in the first half. [Toronto](https://theathletic.com/nba/team/raptors/) on Dec. [NBA](https://theathletic.com/nba/) history to record 70-plus points in a game. [Chicago Bulls](https://theathletic.com/nba/team/bulls/), the Cavs wrote the number 71 on a sheet of paper to cement his career-high in a now obligatory homage to [Wilt Chamberlain’s famous photo](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/02/sports/basketball/wilt-chamberlain-100-point-game.html). “I think we’ve seen some even on TV before, but we were treated tonight to one of the greatest performances in the history of the NBA.” [a career-high 71 points](https://theathletic.com/4053221/2023/01/02/cavaliers-bulls-donovan-mitchell/) – 55 of which came after halftime – to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 145-134 overtime win over the Chicago Bulls.

Here are three takeaways from the Chicago Bulls' heartbreaking OT loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

[Billy Donovan](https://www.basketballnetwork.net/tag/billy-donovan) said he believes Mitchell committed a lane violation in that pivotal play. [Mitchell](https://www.basketballnetwork.net/tag/donovan-mitchell) scored was extremely crucial as Cleveland came all the way back from a 21-point deficit. The loss pushes Chicago's record in clutch situations (a game within five points in the last five minutes of regulation) to 7-13, which includes an awful 1-4 mark in overtime games. A few days after suffering a close loss to this very same Cavs squad, the Bulls yet again experienced heart-breaking defeat. While Mitchell has already established himself as an All-Star in the Association, nobody ever thought he was capable of something like this. However, for all the positives in the franchise's history, there is also a flipside that has seen some unfortunate outcomes.

Everything was going against the Cavs, Evan Mobley and Darius Garland were out, Kevin Love and Isaac Okoro were in foul trouble and the defense had no answers ...

- Dean Wade – 3 Points - Cedi Osman – 24 Points - Donovan Mitchell –49 Points A rather damning indictment against the Bulls’ defense. [ had a game for the ages](https://factoryofsadness.co/2022/12/29/3-things-ricky-rubio-will-be-able-to-bring-to-the-cleveland-cavaliers-when-he-returns/). The Cleveland Cavaliers were looking at yet another game lost due to a slow start, this time against the Chicago Bulls, who the Cavs just saw on New Year’s Eve.

The Chicago Bulls blew a 21-point lead and lost in overtime to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Cavs' guard Donovan Mitchell set all sorts of records, ...

The Bulls and Nets will tip-off at 7:00 p.m. [According to ESPN.com](https://www.espn.com/nba/recap/_/gameId/401468707), Mitchell's 71 points are the eighth-highest in league history and marked the most points by an NBA player since Lakers great Kobe Bryant scored 81 against Toronto on Jan. But the night belonged to Cavs' guard Donovan Mitchell. The fouling was a major contributor to his points. Some would say, the Bulls played some of their best basketball this season. The Chicago Bulls did all the right things in the first half of their match-up against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday night.

Mitchell broke Kyrie Irving and LeBron James' Cavaliers single-game scoring record which was at 57. "Good, records are meant to be broken," Irving said.

[Caesars Ohio Sportsbook](https://www.cleveland.com/betting/ohio/caesars/) is open for bets now that Ohio sports betting has launched. Thank you for giving the Cavs family a night we will never forget. “When you look at what he did from the beginning to the end, it was epic,” Carr said on the Bally Sports Ohio Cavaliers live postgame show. You put on a show last night. “This was an epic all-time performance, and he absolutely carried this Cavaliers team,” Daugherty said. Mitchell became just the seventh player to score 70 or more points in an NBA game. He scored or assisted on 99 points, second only to Wilt Chamberlain (104). “Jarrett Allen was fantastic in the fourth quarter. He topped it off with 13 of Cleveland’s 15 points in overtime. We had a brief conversation, and you could just tell, little things like that.” “You could just tell he was locked in. He could tell there was something different about him.

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell scored a franchise-record 71 points in an overtime win over the Chicago Bulls on Monday.