A week after tying his career record with 47 points in his win against Utah Jazz, Nikola Jokic showed up on Saturday and excelled at registering your first 50 point game impressive individual effort. He tried to put the Denver Nuggets on his back and finished with a ridiculous 50 point line (20 of 33 FG), eight rebounds and 12 assists.
Only this time he ended up being defeated, with the Sacramento Kings taking the 119-114 victory – their third against the Nuggets this season and sixth in their last seven games overall – to improve to 11-11. They did this largely because of a clutch game from their debutant star, Tyrese Haliburton, who continues to prove that he is one of the best players in this class.
Haliburton scored 12 of the 23 highest points of his career in the fourth period and added four rebounds, six assists and two steals in another strong game. In the process, he became the first newbie Kings as Tyreke Evans put 20 points and five assists in one game by hitting at least 65 percent. This is a somewhat obscure statistic, but it shows that what he is doing is rare.
At two different times at the end of Saturday’s fourth period, a bucket of Jokic took the Nuggets to six points, only for Haliburton to fall on the other end and bury a triple. The most notable came with less than a minute to play, as he used a high pick-and-roll with Richaun Holmes and walked to a 3 to practically seal the game.
“Ty is a big part of [the Kings’ closing lineup], ” Holmes said. “He brings an unbelievable IQ to the game, he has a great feeling and is not afraid of the moment. We need him on the court and he is always there for us.”
At this point, Haliburton’s journey to the Kings was well documented, as well as the way he played to start the season. And as he crosses the 20 game threshold of his young career, we are approaching the point where it is no longer fair to say that this is a hot start product or a small sample. Haliburton is really good.
What is most impressive is the consistency with which he is performing better – he scored double digits in all but five games and had at least five assists in all but seven – and the way he has already earned the trust of his coaches and teammates. As Holmes noted, Haliburton consolidated himself as a member of the last five of the Kings.
You saw why against the Nuggets, when he came up with big shots over and over, and the statistics help tell a remarkable story. In the fourth quarter of this season alone, Haliburton averaged 5.1 points, 1.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists, shooting 60.7 percent from the field and 62.7 percent from the 3-point interval. Oh, and in 192 minutes of the fourth time, he only turned the ball seven times.
A few days ago, Haliburton was named Rookie of the month for the Western Conference in December / January, and with the way he is playing, there will surely be more of those honors coming at him. If he stays that way throughout the season, he could be in the line of taking home the big Rookie of the Year trophy too.