Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell enjoyed the game of a lifetime with his 71-point effort against the Bulls on Monday night, but the NBA now says it never should’ve happened.
In its last-two-minutes report on the game released Tuesday, the league said Mitchell should’ve been called for a lane violation with 4.1 seconds left in regulation when he shot a free throw and stepped over the foul line early. Mitchell then rebounded his own deliberately missed shot and hit a field goal to send the game to overtime.
Had the lane violation been called, it’s extremely unlikely the Cavs could’ve forced overtime. Mitchell had 56 points at the time, and the final field goal of regulation gave him 58. He then added 13 points in overtime as Cleveland won going away, 145–134.
Mitchell’s 71-point outburst is tied for the eighth-highest single-game total in NBA history, and it’s the most in a game since the Lakers’ Kobe Bryant scored 81 against the Raptors on Jan. 22, 2006. Mitchell also recorded 11 assists and eight rebounds Monday night.
Mitchell set a Cavaliers franchise record for points in a single game, eclipsing the previous mark of 57, which was shared by LeBron James and Kyrie Irving.
Mitchell said the NBA selected him for a random drug test Tuesday morning, a matter of hours after his big game.
