Jalen Rose

Pressed for time with just two days remaining before the NBA’s 2001-02 trade deadline, the Chicago Bulls determined that even at the expense of their top three scorers, the potential of acquiring Jalen Rose proved too tempting to ignore. Faced with a time constraint of his own with just 2.5 seconds left in a tie game, Rose, blooming to the peak of his bucket-getting powers on March 16, 2002, supplied Chicago with all of the offense they needed. One dagger away from a go-ahead game-winner and a new career-best at once, Rose utilizes every millisecond available, breaking free of Walt Williams’ defense with a fabulous spin move before elevating into a 15-foot silencer in front of the Houston Rockets’ home crowd. A penciled-in 20-point, five-rebound, five-assist threat across each of the first three years of the new millennium, Rose offered his average heatwave and then some in the double-OT win. The night concluded with 44 points — including 19 in the fourth — on an efficient, jumpshot-heavy 18-of-34 shooting, alongside 11 rebounds, six assists, two steals, one block, three triples, and just a single turnover across 56 minutes of play.

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