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In the 2017-18 regular season, Derrick Rose did not score 50 points in January.
Or February.
Or march.
Or April.
He was in pain, always in and out of range, never in rhythm. These problems, all his years of trouble, seemed so far Wednesday night, when Rose was better than ever – finishing with a career-high 50 points that allowed the Minnesota Timberwolves to take over Utah Jazz 125-122.
"I played my heart," Rose said. "My team mates said before the game, just play my game. And tonight was a hell of a night.
That it was, in every way.
Rose is already the fourth player of the season – barely two weeks old – to score at least 50 goals in a game, joining Blake Griffin, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.
And if the 50's were not enough, Rose sealed the win by blocking Dante Exum's pointer about two seconds from the end.
Moments later, Rose left the floor in tears. The game had already made the NBA's most useful player cry in 2011. Only this time, the emotion was all joy.
"I know his person, his character," said Wolves coach Tom Thibodeau. "And it shines through."
Rose had to deal with four knee surgeries, needed to take precautions last season to solve ankle problems, was forced to miss out on two full seasons while it should have been in her prime youth .
A night like this has shown what is still possible.
"In every story, there is a beginning, a middle and an end," said Thibodeau. "And I think the end will be good for him."
Rose then tried to play coldly, then recognized that he was still "nervous like hell" – and that was about an hour after the match.
"It means everything," Rose said.
The Wolves badaulted Rose on the floor when it was finished. They sprinkled water in the locker room. And around the league, the players were eager to show him their love.
"What he gives to his mind and body just to play a game, it's something I've seen being his teammate," said LeBron James, who played with Rose in Cleveland last season. "When you talk about perseverance, that's the real definition of it. … Even when a superhero is upset, he is still a superhero at the end of the day. And Derrick showed why he is a superhero.
"All basketball fans in the world should feel good with DRose," said Miami guard Dwyane Wade, also a Rose teammate in Cleveland. "Tonite was an example of never giving up oneself and when others believe in you. Amazing things can happen. I smiled as if I had scored 50! Congratulations to a good guy!
Houston star Chris Paul played, just like the excellent Bullie, Scottie Pippen.
"Hard work is undefeated," said CJ McCollum of Portland.
Such an explosion seemed, at best, unlikely for Rose, knowing that he had not even exceeded 35 points in any game since that season.
Thibodeau coached Rose to Chicago and saw him at his best and at his worst. He knows the adversity, the struggle, all Rose has lived through most of the last decade.
"The only thing that really matters to him is that you win," said Thibodeau.
It's already a busy season for the Wolves, who have been busy with the Jimmy Butler saga since the beginning of the camp. Butler did not play Wednesday, the team calling it a break to rest. Butler has requested an exchange before the season but remains on the list.
It did not seem to bother anyone when the final horn sounded against the Jazz. Rose was all that mattered.
And a night like this, he said, was worth the wait.
"Everything is happening," Rose said. "But it took six or seven years."
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