Friday night, Zach LaVine added to his burgeoning all-star case with a 43 point, eight 3-pointer outburst against the Indiana Pacers. Though the performance came in defeat, he had the United Center rocking for extended stretches, at one point scoring 20 straight Bulls points between the second and third quarters.
It was truly an eye-popping display, so much so that Dwyane Wade chimed in via Twitter to offer his support for LaVine (spelling his name correctly this time).
It's not the first time Wade has shown love to LaVine this season, and hopefully it's not the last. LaVine offered digital daps to Wade later in the evening.
Then, the next day, in advance of the Bulls' road matchup with the Detroit Pistons, LaVine was asked about the exchange.
"It was cool. You know, he's tweeted at me a couple times," LaVine told reporters. "You always want to show respect to dudes like that, he's a top three, four shooting guard ever, so. It's just cool.
"I've played against him, I've played against him when he was still D-Wade. He gave us 25 in the second half, so, it's a good compliment."
NBA
The game LaVine is referring to likely occurred on Nov. 8, 2014, LaVine's rookie year, when Wade scored 25 points on 11-for-16 shooting (15 on 7-for-10 in the second half) en route to a 102-92 win for the Heat over the Timberwolves. Time flies.
LaVine is currently in the midst of a scorching hot stretch, and the support of those like Wade is more evidence of growing respect for him around the league. That could bode well for his all-star chances.
"You know, I just appreciate people being able to see things into the future a little bit and not trying to put a ceiling on you," LaVine said. "Cause I know I'm not where I can be, and I want to continue to grow... I see myself continuing to get better and better."
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