70-Point Games in NBA: Donovan Mitchell, Kobe Bryant and Devin Booker Have More Than Just ‘Excellent Scoring Outbursts’ in Common

The Cleveland Cavaliers gave the Chicago Bulls a surprise that they wouldn’t have expected at all. Leading the game by 21 points at a time, the Bulls were up by 7 points with 5 minutes to play. However, Donovan Mitchell had other plans. Scoring 58 points in regulation, Mitchell forced overtime by tossing in his missed free throw.

Donovan Mitchell with the intentional missed free throw AND HE TIES ITpic.twitter.com/bWVSOnfboZ

— Dime (@DimeUPROXX) January 3, 2023

He helped the Cavs tie the game at 130 and take it to OT. Once they were there, Spida took over, scoring 13 points in the frame and leading the Cavs to a 145-134 win. He had 71 points, 11 assists, and eight rebounds for the game.

✅ Franchise record
✅ Career-high

Donovan Mitchell became just the 7th player in NBA history to score 70+ points in a game!

📊 71 PTS | 11 AST | 8 REB pic.twitter.com/g6M7ZkPiVC

— NBA Australia (@NBA_AU) January 3, 2023

With his 70-point performance tonight, he became the 7th-ever player in NBA history to have a 70+ point game.

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What do Kobe Bryant, Donovan Mitchell, and Devin Booker have in common?

The last three people to score 70 points or more in a game in the NBA were Donovan Mitchell, Devin Booker, and Kobe Bryant. Donovan did it tonight vs the Bulls. Booker did it in 2017 against the Celtics. Kobe did it in 2006 vs the Raptors.

An amusing statistic shared by Statmuse on Twitter showed us what these three have in common.

All three of them are shooting guards.

3 players have dropped a 70 point game in the last 25 years.

All 3 were shooting guards.

All 3 were selected 13th overall. pic.twitter.com/RwWB5gDZt8

— StatMuse (@statmuse) January 3, 2023

Kobe was drafted in 1996 as the 13th pick. Booker was drafted in 2015 as the 13th pick. Donovan Mitchell was drafted in 2017 as the 13th pick. Coincidence? I think not.

Maybe the next 70-bomb would be by someone who’s already been drafted or has yet to enter the league.

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How did the teams fare on the 70-point performances?

When Kobe dropped 81 on the Raptors, he led the Lakers to a 122-104 comeback win over the Toronto Raptors. Tonight, Donovan Mitchell helped the Cleveland Cavaliers to erase a 21-point deficit and win the game by 11 points.

However, when Devin Booker dropped 70 against the Celtics, the Suns lost that game 130-120.

In recent times, Booker is the only player to have dropped 70 and still lost the game.

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