Derrick Rose delivered an awesome late Christmas present to NBA fans on Saturday night, as he dunked a basketball for the first time in pretty much forever. The Chicago Bulls’ point guard — who played a grand total of ten games across the previous two seasons — had passed up dunk opportunities in favor of preserving his surgically-repaired knees, but seemed eager to finally flush one in the face of the next wunderkind Chicago baller, Anthony Davis. The Pelicans big man scored 29 points in his first game in his hometown as a pro, but the combo of Rose and Jimmy Butler sent the Pels packing.
Butler has been a menace of late, as he eclipsed the 30-point mark for the fifth time this season. To put that in perspective, the shoo-in Most Improved Player award winner hadn’t scored 30 points in a game over his first three seasons. Butler’s emergence, combined with Rose’s increasing confidence, makes for a devastating back court duo — one the Eastern Conference will have fits with the rest of the season.
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