NBA rookie breaks Michael Jordan playoff record that's stood for 33 years
Michael Jordan accomplished a laundry list of feats thoughout his playoff career.
Besides his six championships in six NBA Finals appearances, the Chicago Bulls legend also holds the record for most points in a playoff game (63, against the Boston Celtics on April 20, 1986). And until Wednesday, he held the record for most points by a guard in his first two career playoff contests.
Then rookie volume-scoring sensation Donovan Mitchell of the Utah Jazz came along.
Mitchell scored 28 points in Game 2 of the Jazz’s first-round playoff matchup against Oklahoma City Thunder, helping his team even the series on the road.
When combined with an additional 27 points in Game 1, his 55 total points broke the 53-point mark Jordan set way back in 1985 in his first two playoff games as a rookie with the Bulls, according to ESPN.
What’s even more impressive is that Mitchell scored his 28 points despite nursing a sore foot; he had been listed as questionable in the injury report prior to the game.
After the victory, Jazz coach Quin Snyder praised Mitchell’s toughness.
“Donovan, obviously, his aggressiveness on the offensive end fueled us there. I think if he was feeling something, he didn’t show it, and he played through it,” Snyder said.
Mitchell paced a balanced Jazz scoring attack, as he was one of three players, along with point guard Ricky Rubio and forward Derrick Favors, who scored at least 20 points.
Mitchell’s emergence this season helped power Utah to a No. 5 seed in the postseason, an astonishing feat in the ultra-competitive Western Conference considering that the Jazz were 19-28 at one point in the season.
They went 29-6 the rest of the way, and only the top-seeded Houston Rockets had a better record (32-5) after Jan. 22.
Mitchell has also earned the respect of opposing coaches, who fear his offensive prowess.
The Thunder started the game trying to defend against Mitchell with forward Corey Brewer, but as the game went on, they switched to guarding him with Russell Westbrook and even the 6-foot-9 Paul George.
But nobody the Thunder put on Mitchell could solve him.
Mitchell has taken plenty of shots to get his 55 points; he leads the NBA in playoff field goal attempts with 47.
In 1985, Jordan was more efficient, needing only 36 field goal attempts to get his 53 points. He was also a combined 20-of-22 from the free throw line in his first two games.
But the record isn’t for the most points per attempt. It’s for most points, and Mitchell’s name is the one now etched into the history books.
Jordan’s Bulls got bounced in four games in the first round, while the Jazz are hoping to make a deeper playoff run in Mitchell’s first year. By taking home-court advantage away from the Thunder, they might just be on their way to doing that.
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