‘Haven’t Done it Since’: Donovan Mitchell Says the One Time He Drank Before an NBA Game, He Scored 71 Points

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell celebrates a 145-134 overtime win against the Chicago Bulls on Jan. 2, 2023, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Ron Schwane)

Donovan Mitchell has offered a surprising explanation for one of the greatest scoring performances of his career: a few drinks on New Year’s Eve.

Mitchell recalled his career-high 71-point game against the Chicago Bulls during a recent appearance on the “Cousins” podcast with Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady. The Cleveland Cavaliers guard said he had a few drinks the night before the Jan. 2, 2023, game and believes the unusual routine may have contributed to his historic performance.

“I’ve never drunk before a game in my life. It was New Year’s. So I did have a drink, a few drinks, the night before the game,” Mitchell said. “Never done that in my career. Haven’t done it since.”

Mitchell suggsted the drinks may have helped produce the performance.

“So I tell people like that was probably what, you know, allowed me to have the night I had,” he said.

Funnily enough, Mitchell started a bit slow in that game. At halftime, Cleveland trailed by 20 points, and Mitchell had scored 16 points. He said on the podcast that he was already feeling exhausted and initially set a modest goal for the second half: simply make the game competitive.

Then, he scored 24 points in the third quarter and another 18 in the fourth, including the basket that tied the game with 3 seconds remaining and sent it to overtime. He added 13 points in overtime as Cleveland pulled away for a 145-134 victory.

The 71 points came on 22-of-34 shooting, including seven 3-pointers, while Mitchell also converted 20 of 25 free-throw attempts.

The free throws were an important part of the scoring outburst, Mitchell acknowledged, but the guard also described a stretch in which shots that had been missing for days suddenly started going in.

“Now I’m scoring. Now the shots that I’ve been missing for the past week are starting to fall,” Mitchell said.

The 71-point night remains Mitchell’s career high and one of the defining performances of his NBA career.