SALT LAKE CITY — Exuberant Utah Jazz fans and exasperated Denver Nuggets fans weren’t the only ones who noticed Donovan Mitchell’s latest 50-plus-point outburst on Sunday night.
Though Dallas rookie Luka Doncic got most of the spotlight that day after his game-winning 3-pointer in the Mavericks’ victory over the Los Angeles Clippers, Mitchell’s 51-point performance in the Game 4 win over Denver was also a hot topic.
Here are some examples of what was said on Twitter about Spida, who’s averaging 39.5 points (50% in 50-point games), 5.8 assists, 4.5 rebounds, 56.3% shooting, 51.4% 3-point shooting and 95.5% free-throw shooting while leading Utah to a 3-1 lead:
• “@spidadmitchell is becoming a superstar.” — Dwyane Wade, leading some Miami fans to urge the former Heat star to work on getting Mitchell to South Beach.
• “Donovan Mitchell and Jamal Murray are the big-game late-game clutch shooters that everyone thinks Damian Lillard is. THEY are special.” — Skip Bayless, giving a compliment to the young guys while taking a shot at the former Weber State standout.
• “If Donovan Mitchell, who was taken 10 picks after Jayson Tatum, had these playoff performances (38 points in a closeout game as a rookie, 57 & 51 already this postseason) in Boston, Celtic fans would already be building the statue & demand you include him in all Top 5 lists.” — Fox Sports 1 host Nick Wright
• “Before the Bubble I said that this is a Audition for Donovan Mitchell to prove to the Organization that he’s a BATMAN and could he average 30 plus in a series...He’s averaging 39 points in 4 games with two 50 plus wing dinners!!! @utahjazz I think he’s that guy.” — former NBA big man (and temporary Utah Jazz player) Kendrick Perkins, perhaps forgetting that Mitchell is known for being a different superhero.
• “This dude @spidadmitchell = SPECIAL. Love this brother. Putting on a show tonight vs @nuggets (no more state downs, Millsap! You see where that gotcha). Bad news? The brother could’ve been a @nyknicks. This is the sadness that takes over my basketball life.” — ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith, a Knicks fan who remembers that New York drafted Frank Ntilikina five spots ahead of Mitchell in the 2017 NBA Draft.
• Last but not least ...