Before the start of this season, star guard Donovan Mitchell was traded to the Eastern Division team Cavaliers. On the 11th, he returned to the Jazz home court for the first time after he changed the team. Mitchell played the whole game without softness and roared the highest 46 points of the whole game. But even if Mitchell gave such an excellent play, the Cavaliers finally lost the Jazz 114-116, and the record was overtaken by seven or six people who won the same day, ranking fifth in the Eastern Division.
Mitchell didn’t have any adjustment problems after he came to the Cavaliers. He and Darius Garland formed a new generation of backcourt double shots to help the Cavaliers occupy the top four positions in the East Zone for a long time. Mitchell’s data this season is also quite excellent, with an average of 29.3 points, a shooting percentage of 48.9%, and a three-point shooting percentage of 40.4%, all of which are career highs. Last week’s game against the Bulls hit a personal high of 71 points, It is the highest scoring record of the NBA in a single game since Kobe Bryant, the famous Lakers player, performed the miracle of 81 points.
Back at the familiar Jazz home court, Mitchell’s basket was as vast as the sea. He hit 14 goals in 27 shots, including seven three-point shots, 11 shots on the free throw line, and hit all the shots, with 5 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 intercepts. According to the data of ESPN Stats&Info, Mitchell scored 46 points against the Jazz, setting the second highest single-game score in the first game of the away game against his old team after the players changed teams. Only after John Williamson scored 50 points from the horse skater in 1977-78, John Williamson was traded to the Nets in this season, and soon got the chance to play against his old team at the end of the season.
Mitchell’s 46 points performance is still not enough to lead the Cavaliers to win, because there are also players in the Jazz team who are eager to prove themselves to their old owners. Jordan Clarkson scored the highest 32 points of the team, with 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Lauri Markkanen, who feels hot this season, handed in 25 points and 16 rebounds, and led the Jazz to win the Cavaliers by 2 points. The team currently ranks 10th in the Western Region with 21-23.