NBA Top Five Performances, March 6: Donovan Mitchell’s Double-Double Gave Cleveland Cavaliers Overtime Victory Against the Boston Celtics

Mitchell handed the Celtics their third consecutive loss.

TOP PLAYERS OF THE DAY:

Donovan Mitchell’s 44-point performance was not enough to get the Cleveland Cavaliers the victory against the Boston Celtics on March 1. This time, Mitchell made sure to close the deal. He had 40 points, 11 rebounds and four assists Monday night. Mitchell scored nine straight points in the fourth quarter to tie the game and send it to overtime. He accounted for 34 percent of the Cavaliers’ scoring on the night.

Cleveland improved to 7-0 in overtime games this season. Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff said the team feeds off Mitchell’s energy.

“When it’s happening in that moment, you feel the shift,” Bickerstaff said. “What I respect most about this group is they continue to help in those moments. When he’s got it going, it’s what do we gotta do to keep going? And then, his ability to still make the right play. It doesn’t turn into being about Donovan, it’s about the play that needs to be made in that moment.”

OTHERS:

- Joel Embiid‘s 42-point performance gave the Philadelphia 76ers the win over the Indiana Pacers.

- Damian Lillard’s triple-double got the win for the Portland Trail Blazers against the Detroit Pistons. Lillard had 31 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists.

- Jamal Murray’s 24 points led the Denver Nuggets to victory against the Toronto Raptors. Murray shot 50 percent from 3-point range and 9 of 14 from the field overall.

- The Sacramento Kings prevailed against the New Orleans Pelicans behind a triple-double from Domantas Sabonis. Sabonis had 19 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in the Kings’ blowout victory.

Jayden Armant is a contributor to Inside the Heat. He is a student at Howard University. He can be reached at jayden.armant@bison.howard.edu or follow him on Twitter @jaydenarmant.