Jazz's Mitchell on 35-shot, 0-assist night: 'That can't happen'
Donovan Mitchell shouldered too much off the offensive load on Friday night against the Philadelphia 76ers, which didn't work out well for the Utah Jazz.
"I took 35 shots. That can't happen. Zero assists," Mitchell said following his team's 113-107 loss at the Wells Fargo Center, according to ESPN's Tim MacMahon. "That's not who I am. That's not how I play. I know I'm still being aggressive, but I've got to be smart."
The 22-year-old sophomore converted 13 of his 35 shot attempts, finishing with a team-high 31 points in 34 minutes. He also grabbed a pair of rebounds and recorded four steals.
Mitchell is the first player since Carmelo Anthony on Jan. 24, 2014 to take that many shots without recording a single assist. Prior to Anthony, the last player to post that stat line was Antoine Walker on Jan. 7, 1998 when he torched the Washington Wizards for 49 points.
The NBA record for the most shots taken without an assist belongs to Joe Fulks of the Philadelphia Warriors on Feb. 10, 1949 when he shot 56 times and scored 63 points against the Indianapolis Jets.
Friday marked the fourth time in 92 career outings that Mitchell went an entire game without dropping a dime.
"I expect to be perfect," Mitchell added. "I just can't have a game like that, in my opinion. My teammates are always going to be there for me, having my back. My coach is always going to have my back. That's what keeps me going, because I'm hard on myself.
"But I'm going to shoot my way out of this and just stay locked in and stay focused."
The defeat drops Utah's record to 7-8, placing them 12th in the Western Conference. They'll face the Boston Celtics on Saturday at TD Garden.