Everyone remembers this game for the Carmelo Anthony heroics with his gametying three over Gibson that sent the game to OT and then his gamewinning three over Deng to give the Knicks the one point win, but if it wasn't for another player's brilliant performance, he probably wouldn't have been in the position to make those plays.
Iman Shumpert was given the task to guard the reigning NBA MVP Derrick Rose. And he didn't disappoint one bit. From the first whistle to the final play of the game Shump was all over Rose.
He made him work for every shot, chased him all over the floor and frustrated him to 8 turnovers. With Shumpert's amazing footwork, quick hands and defensive awareness he turned this into a nightmare for DRose. Of course, being the great player that he is, Rose was able to still make some shots (some included in the video) and score every now and then, but that made Iman guard him even better down the stretch. The MVP finished with 29 points, but shot just 826 from the floor and he was able to dish only 4 assists, while commiting 8 turnovers.
To add to his defensive performance, Shump was also stellar on the offensive end showing his versatility , finishing with 15 points and 6 assists to go along with 9 rebounds and 5 steals.
These kinds of performances had everyone holding their breath over Shump's potential and what kind of player he could become. Let's hope he can figure it out and start hitting his stride again, because it would be a shame if he won't fulfill the potential, due to his knee and confidence issues.
All of the video footage is property of the NBA and I do not own it.