DeMarcus Cousins makes history with unbelievable triple-double
DeMarcus Cousins had undoubtedly his best game as a professional on Monday night. It only took him a career-high 51 minutes, but after logging the excessive court time necessary for a 132-128 double overtime victory over the Chicago Bulls, the bruising big man joined historic company.
Cousins finished the contest with 44 points, 24 rebounds and 10 assists, something that was last done by a player you may or may not recognize. His name? Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. To make his performance more astounding, only Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson and Elgin Baylor join him in this elite circle. Even more impressive, all four of those players happen to be among the best players in the Hall of Fame.
Boogie stole the show, but Anthony Davis was no slouch. The Brow scored 34 points and brought down nine boards that Cousins somehow hadn’t already secured. The All-Star duo lit up the Bulls, but their crowning achievement of the night was leading the New Orleans Pelicans to a win from down 17 points.
The two big men have struggled on occasion to mesh together on the court, but tonight that was far from the case. While they clearly can’t play to this level every night, when the pair is on, it’s hard to bring them down. They’re too big, too physical and too skilled to be outplayed by lesser front court couples and in a league that’s getting smaller by the day, they might just have an advantage down the playoff stretch.
Jrue Holiday sometimes seem like somewhat of an afterthought on the Pelicans roster, but his impact should not be downplayed. Although traditionally a point guard, with the insertion of Rajon Rondo into the starting lineup, Holiday has painlessly and gracefully made the transition to shooting guard.
Despite playing point guard for the first eight seasons and 504 games of his career, Holiday has thrived in his new position. Playing in a Western Conference that’s full of superstar caliber guards, it’s unlikely he’ll receive much media attention anytime soon, but his production since his switch to shooting guard on November 13 deserves some recognition. Over that span of 34 games, Holiday has averaged 20.3 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.6 assists on 51/37/81 shooting splits.
Though he won’t make his second All-Star team this season, he has a real chance to be a difference maker for the Pelicans. The rest of the league may not acknowledge it, but New Orleans has a legitimate big three on their roster and they’re not to be trifled with. You can ignore them for now, just remember I told you so when they push your favorite contenders to the brink of playoff elimination come April.
