NBA

NBA Admits Two Missed Calls Helped Donovan Mitchell Reach 71 Points On Monday

Cavaliers Donovan Mitchell on return to Utah Jazz - 'I hope it's cheers'

There’s no denying how special Donovan Mitchell’s 71-point performance vs the Chicago Bulls was on Monday night. Not every player is capable of scoring that many points. He set a new Cleveland Cavaliers franchise record for points scored in a game. However, according to NBA reports, there were two missed calls that helped Mitchell reach 71 and possibly would have changed the outcome of the game as well. 

Cleveland pulled of a 21-point comeback on the shoulders of Donovan Mitchell’s shoulders. It was the most points scored in a game since Kobe Bryant’s 81-point game in 2006. League reports say that the refs missed two crucial calls at the end of the game that could have given the Bulls a win.

NBA betting sites have the Cavaliers at (+1800) to win the Finals this season. The points and win cannot be undone for Mitchell or the Cavaliers, so the apology means nothing at all if the leagues officials are missing some of the biggest calls of the game.

NBA admits that refs blew two huge calls in the Bulls vs Cavs game

The first missed call that helped the Cavaliers was a missed travel call on center Jarrett Allen. He took a pass from Donovan Mitchell and pivoted in the lane to cut the Bulls lead to one. It was bad defense by the Bulls in the first place, but the travel should have absolutely been called. This drew the game to a one point lead and momentum on Cleveland’s side.

What hurt the Bulls the most was the second missed call as it likely could have stopped OT from happening and Chicago have won the game. However, Donovan Mitchell shot a free-throw and intentionally missed to try and get his team the two point shot they needed. The league says the refs missed a lane violation call on that free-throw that would have given possession back to the Bulls with a 130-128 lead with less than five seconds in the game.

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Zach Wolpin
Sports Editor

Zach Wolpin is an NBA and NFL expert who's been betting on the league for over three years now. Wolpin has been a fan of the NBA and has been watching for a decade and a half. He covers the latest news and stories surrounding the league daily. His passion in life is watching sports and being able to share that through his sports writing. He has written about the NBA and other sports leagues through various media outlets over the years like Sir Charles In Charge, G-Men HQ, and TAP into South Plainfield. Before he became an NBA News Writer, Wolpin attended Montclair State University where he graduated in 2021. He studied Sports Media and Writing while in school.

All posts by Zach Wolpin
Author photo
Zach Wolpin Sports Editor

Zach Wolpin is an NBA and NFL expert who's been betting on the league for over three years now. Wolpin has been a fan of the NBA and has been watching for a decade and a half. He covers the latest news and stories surrounding the league daily. His passion in life is watching sports and being able to share that through his sports writing. He has written about the NBA and other sports leagues through various media outlets over the years like Sir Charles In Charge, G-Men HQ, and TAP into South Plainfield. Before he became an NBA News Writer, Wolpin attended Montclair State University where he graduated in 2021. He studied Sports Media and Writing while in school.

All posts by Zach Wolpin