The greatest scoring performance in Utah Jazz playoff history doesn’t belong to Karl Malone or John Stockton or anyone else whose jersey hangs in the rafters at Vivint Arena.
It belongs now to Donovan Mitchell.
The Utah Jazz’s All-Star guard put on an offensive showcase on Monday afternoon, scoring a career-high 57 points in the first postseason game played inside the NBA’s Bubble. Mitchell, in his third season, scored the third most points ever in a playoff game. His 57-point performance trails only Michael Jordan’s 63 and Elgin Baylor’s 61.
Mitchell (who also had 9 rebounds and 7 assists) left the arena disappointed as his squad dropped Game 1 of this first-round series with the Denver Nuggets, a 135-125 in overtime.