[ad_1]
Derrick Rose couldn’t hold back the tears after his career-high 50 points and game-winning block in the Timberwolves’ 128-125 win over the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night.
Wearing a throwback jersey, Rose looked more like the 2011 MVP than the player who has struggled in recent stints with the Knicks and Cavaliers. He was released by the Jazz in February of last season after being traded by the Cavs before signing with the Timberwolves in March.
Asked what the 50-point game meant to him, Rose, wiping away tears, said, “Everything.”
“I worked my ass off,” he said in a postgame interview. “I did this for the franchise, the fans, the organization.
“I’m doing everything just to win, and tonight was a hell of a night.”
Derailed by injuries for years, Rose walked off serenaded by chants of “MVP! MVP!” from the home crowd. The 30-year-old point guard shot 19-of-31 from the field and hit four 3-pointers. He played 41 minutes, his most in nearly two years.
“He has courage, he has humility and he has character,” said Timberwolves coach Tom Thibodeau, who also coached Rose during his prime seasons in Chicago. “He’s been through a lot of adversity. He’s maybe one of the most mentally tough people I’ve ever come across.”
Rose had 34 points in the second half and 15 in a tightly contested fourth quarter as the Wolves held off the Jazz.
His basket down low with 30 seconds remaining put Minnesota up for good, and he made two free throws with 13.8 seconds left to make it a three-point lead.
“He made a lot of plays, made some tough shots,” Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. “We had some breakdowns, a little bit of everything.”
The Timberwolves were down two starters, including the discontented Jimmy Butler, and Rose was a floor general, guiding the team to the win.
1:29
Derrick Rose turns back the clock and scores a career-high 50 points, including the go-ahead bucket and blocking a potential game-tying three.
“Most I ever talked to my teammates,” he said.
Rose was mobbed by his teammates after the win and had to compose himself before he could take questions in an on-court interview.
Back in the locker room, excited teammates doused Rose in celebration.
One of his biggest shots was a corner 3 that tied the game at 119. That gave him 44 points, which matched his previous high set during the 2011 playoffs with the Bulls. His regular-season best had been 42 points.
Rose tied it at 110 with one of his patented layups, giving him 41 points. He weaved through traffic and made the off-balance shot, showing glimpses of the moves that once made him an elite player and the top pick in the 2008 draft.
“He was feeling great and when you start feeling great you get some extra energy, you get some extra adrenaline and you make amazing plays and that’s what he did the whole game,” Utah center Rudy Gobert said.
Given everything he has been through, it was a special night.
“It still didn’t even hit me yet,” Rose said. “Words can’t explain how I feel right now. It’s been a while.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Source link
