Derrick Rose Gets Emotional After Scoring 50 Points Against Utah Jazz
A masterclass against the Utah Jazz, Derrick Rose delivered the best score of his career by planting 50 points (19 out of 31 in the shot) and offered the victory to the Timberwolves. Enough to move to tears the hero of the evening, coming back from nowhere. Or rather returning from immense galleys, injuries, operations, doubts and disappointments.
"It was a hell of a night," Rose said tearfully as the Minnesota fans cheered on her as "MVP". At 30, "D-Rose", starting for the first time this season, had not been to such a party since 2011, the season after which he won the trophy for best NBA player (MVP ).
In February 2018, after a few featureless months in Cleveland, His coach in Chicago, Tom Thibodeau, offered him a last chance to play in Minnesota. Thus, when he signed on with the Minnesota Timberwolves late last season, it was seen as a coach doing a favor for his former star player. But Rose never lost faith in himself, telling The Undefeated's Marc Spears, "Anything that comes my way I am going to grab it."
He did that in a big way Wednesday night, scoring a career-high 50 points to lead the Wolves to a three-point win. He made the go-ahead basket with 30 seconds left, then gave Minnesota a three-point cushion with a fair of free throws with 13.8 seconds left to reach the 50-point mark.
Rose's 50 points are the fourth-most scored by an NBA player this season, and tied for the second-most ever scored by an NBA player on Halloween. That Rose recaptured the form that earned him league MVP honors in 2010-11 also captured the attention of his NBA colleagues on Twitter, who expressed their excitement upon seeing the 30-year-old Rose look like his prime self again.
Rose's 50-point night came against the Utah Jazz, the team that released him after it acquired him from Cleveland in a multi-team trade at last season's trade deadline. Rose never suited up for the Jazz, and spent nearly a month out of the league before being picked up by Minnesota.
In addition to his 50 points, Rose also blocked a potential game-tying 3-point attempt by Dante Exum in the final seconds to preserve the Timberwolves' win. Rose is now averaging 18.8 points per game, his most since 2011-12 -- the last season before his torn ACL.
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