Ranking the 15 best performances in the NBA this season
9. Zach LaVine shoots the lights out in Charlotte (11/23/19)
The relationship between Zach LaVine and Chicago Bulls head coach Jim Boylen hasn’t always been great dating back to November.
In the first quarter of a 116-108 loss to the Miami Heat, Boylen benched his best player due to what he referred to as “three egregious defensive mistakes,” an action LaVine was none too pleased with following the game.
Chicago would take on the Charlotte Hornets the very next day, and only one look at the boxscore shows how adamant LaVine was about sending a message to his head coach.
Down two points and 7.1 seconds remaining, the Bulls managed to strip Hornets guard Devonte’ Graham underneath Charlotte’s basket.
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It was LaVine who found himself with the ball, racing back to the 3-point line for a desperation heave that fell through to give Chicago a one-point lead and eventually the victory.
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The shot of shots gave LaVine a career-high 49 points, where he shot 17-of-28 from the field while becoming only the third player in NBA history to make at least 13 3-pointers, joining the Splash Brothers, on 17 attempts.
The game did little to aid Chicago’s season at 22-43, but it was hard not to marvel at the type of performance that comes from the combination of a hot hand and a wave of equally fiery anger.