Denzel Valentine has ice in his veins.
The Chicago Bulls and Minnesota Timberwolves faced off in Las Vegas for the Summer League title on Monday. Summer League basketball is usually terrible, chock full of selfish plays, turnovers and chucked shots. Bulls forward Denzel Valentine made sure to give spectators something incredible to remember in a usually awful tournament.
The game was deadlocked at 74 with less than five seconds remaining when Summer League MVP Tyus Jones hit a ridiculous three-pointer with a second left on the shot-clock to give Minnesota a 77-74 lead. How did Valentine respond? With an impressive three-pointer of his own at the buzzer to send the game to overtime.
Valentine wasn’t done just yet.
Xavier Silas of the Timberwolves banked in a game-tying three with 12 seconds remaining in overtime, which allowed Valentine to do the amazing, again. Valentine got the ball at the top of the key, pivoted, pump faked Coty Clarke out of his shoes and proceeded to make a high-difficulty game-winning shot.
Valentine wasn’t having it when told the Summer League title doesn’t matter.
https://twitter.com/highkin/status/755244048818974720
Regardless if that’s true, Valentine came up huge in the clutch for the Bulls. In a transition season where Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah are gone and Dwyane Wade and Rajon Rondo are now Bulls, Valentine can give Chicago fans hope regarding continuity going forward. Who knows, perhaps he’ll one day hit a buzzer-beating basket to win a Championship for the Bulls? OK, I’m getting ahead of myself, but Valentine definitely seems to have the proverbial clutch gene.
