Derrick Rose absolutely exploded on Wednesday night in a 128-125 overtime victory against the Utah Jazz.
In the absence of Jimmy Butler and Jeff Teague, the Minnesota Timberwolves ran their offense through the 2010-11 MVP, and he looked every bit as he did eight years ago. The youngest MVP in NBA history scored 50 points versus the Jazz, a career-high and his highest point total since he went off for 42 points in a March 18, 2011 game versus the Indiana Pacers -- the year he won the MVP award.
Rose not only converted on 19-of-31 field goal attempts, but he also went 4-of-7 from beyond the arc. He single-handedly took over the game as he nailed the game-winning free-throws to go along with two clutch shots in the final minute before capping off his historic night with the game-clinching block of Dante Exum as time expired.
🌹 A CAREER-HIGH 50-POINT GAME FOR DERRICK ROSE 🌹#AllEyesNorth pic.twitter.com/RXCQgTpgxo
— NBA TV (@NBATV) November 1, 2018
And the game-winning block on Exum:
The Derrick Rose block to cap off his 50 point performance and @Timberwolves win! #AllEyesNorth pic.twitter.com/VLOlVMpDaa
— NBA (@NBA) November 1, 2018
It was Rose's first start of the season and his first ever in a Timberwolves uniform. The 30-year-old point guard had served as a sixth man for the T-Wolves since signing with them towards the end of last season, averaging 14.3 points, 4.9 assists and 4.0 rebounds in 28.4 minutes per game.
The Timberwolves are 3-4 and it was clear after watching this game that they look pretty darn good with Rose running the show. Whether or not this speeds up a Butler trade or leads to Tom Thibodeau including Rose in the starting lineup is obviously something worth watching in the coming days.