Derrick Rose continued to make his case for an All-Star bid and the Most Improved Player award on Sunday night, pulling the Minnesota Timberwolves from a potentially embarrassing loss, snatching a last-second game-winner against the Phoenix Suns. Rose scored 29 of his game-high 31 points in the second half and hit an 18-footer with 0.6 seconds to go, giving teammate Karl-Anthony Towns every reason to rave about his performance.
āWatching a living legend in Derrick Rose hit a shot like that, it's great,ā said Towns, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. āVery emotional game for us. We wanted to win this badly.ā
DERRICK ROSE. GAME WINNER š¹ #SCtop10 pic.twitter.com/podmAWX7as
ā SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 21, 2019
Derrick Rose calmly took over as the closer, facing Suns rookie forward Mikal Bridges, their best defender, in a clear-out isolation at the top of the 3-point line. The 2011 MVP quickly went inside the line, found his comfort spot and took a hard step-back dribble to the right, creating just enough separation to elevate above the 6-foot-7 Bridges for a vintage 18-foot fadeaway jumper that tickled twine.
Towns put up his usual double-double with 30 points and 12 rebounds, but it was Rose who made the shots that counted, going 12-of-24 from the field and 7-of-9 from the foul line.
This latest highlight only boosts his chances to become an All-Star starter, already getting the second-most votes as a backcourt member of the Western Conference.
Rose is putting up his highest scoring average (19.3 points) since the 2011-12 season when he first suffered a devastating knee injury that would change the trajectory of his NBA career.
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