There’s plenty of evidence that poking the bear is never a good idea. When it comes to NBA greats, there are plenty of legendary stories that come from player-fan interactions or trash talk from player-player, even heated interactions with a referee will rile players up.
You can now add Donovan Mitchell to that list after he erupted for 37 points after drawing a technical foul in the third quarter after protesting an earlier non-call. In response, Mitchell destroyed everything in sight and went off on a historic scoring spree to blow Chicago out of the water.
In that same third quarter, Spida exploded to reset the Jazz record for points scored in the third frame with 25 points, passing Karl Malone’s 22 points as the Jazz beat the Bulls 125-110 on Wednesday night.
🕷 @spidadmitchell was unconscious in the 3rd-quarter to the tune of 25 points and 7 made three-pointers. He finished the game with a career-high 9 3PM!
— NBA (@NBA) March 17, 2022
🕷: 37 PTS, 5 AST, 9 3PM pic.twitter.com/KUn7vX7EIn
“Once I saw the three on the wide pin go down, it was on,” Mitchell said via ESPN. “From there, I just started getting to my spots and do what I do. Sometimes you just gotta go to that place inside you.”
Mitchell also set a franchise record by knocking down seven three-point shots in the third period on nine attempts. The former Louisville Cardinal ended the night with a career-high nine three-pointers, topping his previous career-high of seven.
What a night for @spidadmitchell:
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) March 17, 2022
🕷 Second-most points in a game this season (37)
🕷 Tied a career-high for threes in a game (9)
🕷 Set a new franchise high for threes in a quarter (7)
🕷 Set a new franchise high for points in the 3rd (25)#PerformanceLeader | @UofUHealth pic.twitter.com/Js6h6eDbmk
Then when the Bulls started double teaming to get the ball out of his hands, it opened up opportunities for Nickeil Alexander-Walker to score 14 of his 16 points in the final quarter. Mitchell spoke about him as well.
“I was really happy for Nickeil because people don’t see that every morning before shootaround; those guys are in there at 8 o’clock working out and going hard too,” Mitchell said.
On Friday night, Mitchell and the Utah Jazz (43-26) host the Los Angeles Clippers (36-36).
