The return of Zion Williamson may have taken the New Orleans Pelicans to an entirely different level, but it has severed Jonas Valanciunas’ involvement in the offense. However, at least for one night, Valanciunas staked his claim for a higher place in the Pelicans’ offensive hierarchy with an incredible scoring night, against the second-ranked defense of the Milwaukee Bucks no less.
In 37 minutes of play, Jonas Valanciunas dropped 37 points and 18 rebounds on 14-24 shooting from the field and 7-10 from deep, putting the Bucks’ defense to the sword all night long. And in the process of doing so, Valanciunas became the first player in NBA history to tally at least 37-plus points, 18-plus boards, and 7-plus triples in a single game, per Andrew Lopez of ESPN. It’s quite a shame that such performance came in a 128-119 losing effort.
While those benchmarks appear to be extremely arbitrary (and quite frankly, they are), it goes to show how deep the Pelicans are in terms of offensive weapons. It also shows just how unique a player Valanciunas can be, capable of dominating on the interior while stretching the floor at an incredible rate.
This also shows that Jonas Valanciunas could still turn it up on any given night. The absence of Larry Nance Jr. on the night helped his case, for sure, but Valanciunas can still dominate given the right matchup. It’s also a good sign that he remains ready despite seeing his minutes fluctuate, with head coach Willie Green opting for the more mobile Nance in crunch-time.
Alas, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Brook Lopez were not to be outdone by the Lithuanian center. Antetokounmpo scorched the nets with 42 points of his own, while Lopez, going through a career renaissance, pitched in 30 of his own to lead Milwaukee to victory.
This may have been a once-in-a-lifetime explosion from Valanciunas, who might see his role dwindle further with the impending return of Brandon Ingram. Nevertheless, Pelicans fans surely enjoyed what was such a delightful outburst from their starting center despite the loss.