Bucks reserve Samuel Dalembert
had a historic night on Tuesday. Perhaps he felt pressure to up his value before the trade deadline. Perhaps he took advantage of the over-zealous defense of Monta Ellis and Brandon Jennings. Or perhaps it was just his night. Scoring thirty-five points off the bench
against the Denver Nuggets, as well as managing twelve rebounds, the backup
center became just the third player in NBA history to do so in a game. Not
since 2005 had a replacement had such a successful night. Portland's Darius
Miles did so then, and it was nearly twenty years prior to that that the
Seventy-Sixers Ron Anderson put up those numbers. The career-high bested his
previous mark by twenty points, and set the bar for most points scored in a
single game this season by a reserve.
Dalembert had just twenty-seven minutes of playing time to
put up the impressive stats. Hitting ten of his first eleven shots, he had over
twenty points before halftime. With another seven in the second, the center
ended the night at seventeen-and-twenty-one, including two assists and a block.
Nuggets head coach George Karl admitted that he had put some
extra coverage on Jennings and Ellis during the game, leaving Dalembert
essentially open most of the night. Talking to reporters post game, Karl said
that he knew Dalembert had a good shot, but was not expecting the center to put
up the numbers he did. Jokingly, Karl said that he was happy to have played a
role in the rejuvenation of Dalembert's career.
Dalembert Shines After Skiles Departs Milwaukee
The thirty-one year old has benefited highly from the exit
of previous head coach Scott Skiles. Falling out of the rotation for twenty
games under Skiles leadership earlier this season, Dalembert has seen a
dramatic increase in playing time with Jim Boylan at the helm.
He has more than certainly recognized the opportunity.
Playing in consecutive games last week against the Bulls and the Pistons,
Dalembert had a pair of double-doubles, highlighted by thirteen rebounds
against Chicago. With Tuesday's performance he has also shown he has the
ability to recover from a few lousy showings over the weekend, including going
scoreless in six minutes off the bench on Saturday against Orlando.
While Dalembert's name may have dominated the headlines
surrounding Tuesday night, the Bucks still fell short of a victory. Karl's
defense of Ellis and Jennings proved extremely effective, keeping the pair to a
combined eleven-of-thirty-six. A prominent three-point defense also shut down
Ersan Ilyasova's eight-game streak of at least two three-pointers, as well as
Jennings seven game streak.
