This stat line was downright zany. One we have not really seen in quite some time. Well, except for from Kobe Bryant.
Monta Ellis had it all and then some.
In the age of efficiency and analytics, Monta Ellis is the anomaly. The horrible offshoot that demands stardom by sheer numbers alone without any care for his field goal percentage, and sometimes his team’s win percentage.
Ellis was the best player on numerous awful Warriors teams. He was the best player on an underachieving Bucks team that was swept ignominiously from the Playoffs. He joined the Mavericks and tried to find his fit in his first year.
At least Dallas made the Playoffs.
And Ellis and the Mavericks expect to get back there. It is going to be a process to get Ellis to calm himself down. Or maybe, you cannot calm down Ellis at all.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDBguSSJpKw
So even with Derrick Rose hitting crazy off-the-glass game-tying shots in overtime, it gave Ellis the opportunity to put up more shots and put up more points. More glorious, glorious points.
It came in a win though. A 132-129 double overtime win over the Bulls at United Center. That is ultimately what matters. That is what Allen Iverson learned as he took shot after shot after shot and Kobe Bryant learned. No one complains about efficiency when you win.
| Score | Off. Rtg. | eFG% | O.Reb.% | TO% | FTR | |
| Dallas | 132 | 113.9 | 53.4 | 24.5 | 12.1 | 26.5 |
| Chicago | 129 | 106.6 | 49.5 | 30.6 | 14.9 | 33.0 |
Monta Ellis (DAL) — 38 pts.; Dirk Nowitzki (DAL) — 22 pts., 10 assts.
Pau Gasol (CHI) — 29 pts., 14 rebs.; Derrick Rose (CHI) — 28 pts., 10 assts.
Game to Watch (12/3): Grizzlies vs. Rockets, 8 p.m.
Well, except maybe on Twitter.
Ellis scored 38 points on 16-for-35 shooting. See efficient. But the Mavericks were the winners. And that is all Dirk Nowitzki and Dallas will care about in the end.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5f_KvMWscI
Shooting performances like this do not happen too often. Ellis is one of the few players who can deliver one though.
Bryant has five of the past 20 games where a player has scored 30 points on 30 or more field goal attempts while shooting worse than 46 percent from the floor. Also on the list multiple times are Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony. Who is going to be OK with being part of that club?
Ellis is not going to be too upset about that.
It is good to see Ellis can still fill up a scoreline. And do so in a hurry. And when he does the Mavericks, or whatever team Ellis is on, still has a chance to win.
It sometimes does not matter how you score, just that you do.
