Cleveland Cavaliers star guard Donovan Mitchell will take home some weekly hardware for the second time this season.
Yesterday afternoon the NBA announced the Conference Players of the Week, and Mitchell was named the winner for the Eastern Conference.
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James and Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell have been named the NBA Western and Eastern Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for Week 12 of the 2022-23 season (Jan. 2-8). pic.twitter.com/hZdStPkceZ
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) January 9, 2023
This is Mitchell’s second Eastern Conference Player of the Week honor this season, as he keeps rolling with the Cavs.
Let’s be honest; this weekly award was Mitchell’s to lose after last Monday’s performance. Against the Chicago Bulls, Mitchell would have to shoulder the load with Darius Garland out of the game.
However, Mitchell only scored five points in the opening quarter, and going into the half, his point total sat at just 16, and the Cavaliers trailed by 18 points.
Mitchell’s second half was a different story, as he poured in 24 third-quarter points and then tacked on 18 more points in the fourth quarter.
Mitchell’s most impressive play of the night actually came on a missed shot, as he executed a missed free throw putback to perfection and tied the game late.
Once the game went to overtime, Mitchell completely took that period over, scoring 13 of Cleveland’s 15 points, including a trio of clutch three-point shots.
At the night’s end, Mitchell poured in a Cavaliers single-game record 71 points and became the first player in the history of the NBA to score 70+ points and dish out 10+ assists in a single game.
Donovan Mitchell tonight:
— Basketball Reference (@bball_ref) January 3, 2023
71 Points (!!!) (22/34 FG)
8 rebounds
11 assists
49 minutes
First player EVER with 70pts/10ast in a game
First Cavs player to score 60+ points in a game
Clutch putback to force OT
W vs. Chicago@cavs | #NBA pic.twitter.com/TtjKaW43cq
This was an absolutely historic performance by Mitchell, who has fit seamlessly in with the Cavaliers existing core and is a critical factor as to why Cleveland sits at 26-15 halfway through the season.
Mitchell’s other two games from this past week came against the Phoenix Suns, as he sat out last Friday’s game in Denver due to rest. While those games against the Suns weren’t his best pair of performances on the season, Mitchell still put up 20+ in both games, and Cleveland was victorious in both games, which is what Mitchell truly cares most about.
As mentioned earlier, Mitchell’s time in Cleveland is off to an excellent start. Heading into Tuesday’s action, Donovan is No. 8 in the NBA, averaging 28.8 points per game, and ranks third in the league with 136 three-point shots made.
Mitchell has already taken home this weekly honor twice, and with half a season still to play, chances are high he will earn this nomination again before the season’s end.