On This Day In NBA History: August 17 – Donovan Mitchell Breaks Jazz Playoff Scoring Record – Sports Illustrated

The NBA Bubble was an experience unlike any other for all of those involved, especially the players. Having to be tested virtually everyday, as well as go through mandatory quarantine times and periods, the bubble in Orlando, Florida was truly difficult mentally.
Physically though, we saw some monumental performances by some of the league’s best talents and one of those performances came on this day in 2020 when Utah Jazz All-Star Donovan Mitchell scored not 20 points, not 30 points, not 40 points, not even 50 points!
Going for 57 points on 19-33 shooting, 6-15 from three-point range, Mitchell not only set a new career-high for himself in the scoring department, but he ended up breaking the team single-game playoff scoring mark, which was held by Karl Malone who scored 50 points on April 22, 2000 against the Seattle SuperSonics.
They may have lost the game 135-125 and they ultimately went on to lose this series in seven games to the Denver Nuggets, but the Jazz learned a lot about their young All-Star from this performance and in this series.
Mitchell’s 57 points was the first time a player had scored at least 55 points in a playoff game since Allen Iverson did so in 2003 with 55 points exact. In addition, Donovan Mitchell’s performance ranks only behind Michael Jordan’s 63 points (1986) and Elgin Baylor’s 61 points (1962) for the most points scored by a player in a single playoff game in NBA history!
In seven games during this series, Mitchell ended up averaging 36.3 points on 52.9% shooting and he also recorded another 50-point game with 51 points in Game 4. On the other side of things for the Nuggets, Jamal Murray recorded 50 points in both Games 4 and 6 of the series, joining Donovan Mitchell (2020), Allen Iverson (2001) and Michael Jordan (1988) as the only other players in NBA history to have multiple 50-point games in the same playoff series.
What Donovan Mitchell did on this day in 2020 and in the NBA Bubble in total was simply remarkable and his name will forever be etched in Utah Jazz history… that is until another young, hungry scoring weapon comes about and possibly surpasses his 57-point mark!
Brett Siegel joined Fastbreak on FanNation as a credentialed NBA journalist in April 2022 after previously covering the NBA for NBA Analysis Network and working with Louisville Basketball, aiding in daily operations, scouting and recruiting. From playing to coaching to covering the game as a media member, Brett has been involved with the game of basketball from many different perspectives. Breaking the news of All-Star Andre Drummond signing with the Lakers in 2021, yearly NBA Draft news and other key stories around the league, Brett is always on the phone, getting the latest news and rumors around the NBA. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @BrettSiegelNBA.

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