31-year-old Ricky Rubio isn’t exactly the kind of player fans get too excited about. While he’s a talented veteran player, the guy is not really All-Star material.
But on Sunday night, he went absolutely bananas, going 8-9 from three in a 37-point scoring explosion that marked his place in the history books.
In the crazy win against the Knicks, he became the first player ever with 30+ points, 10+ assists, 8+ threes in a game off the bench.
Ricky Rubio tonight:
37 PTS (career-high)
10 AST
8-9 3P (career-high)
He is the first player in NBA history with 30+ points, 10+ assists, 8+ threes in a game off the bench. pic.twitter.com/FPh7PE0Beh
— StatMuse (@statmuse) November 8, 2021
Amazingly, Rubio is also shooting a better percentage from three (42.9%) this season than Steph Curry is from the field (41.1%).
All-in-all, it was an amazing performance, and even LeBron Jame himself couldn’t help but take notice.
Rubio going INSANE in the garden right now!!!!
— LeBron James (@KingJames) November 8, 2021
Naturally, after a night like that, one might expect nothing but euphoria from the 10-year veteran. Instead, he spoke calmly and stressed the importance of staying focused.
“You have to adjust on the fly,” Rubio said. “There’s no team that’s going to feel sorry for you and play less aggressive because you’re down three or four guys. Next man up. Something that in this league, you’ve got to learn really quick. We’re 7-4. It’s really good but it’s only 11 games. We can go now and have a really good home stretch and we can’t relax and say we already did it or we make it and we’re here. Win the scrap is what we are talking. I think all the guys, everybody who is on the roster, are buying into that mentality.”
The Cavaliers have gotten off to a great start this season and have earned some really solid wins against tough opponents.
Of course, that was the case last season, too, when the Cavs started off 3-0 before finishing the year 22-50.
A young and inexperienced team, Cleveland still has a lot to prove before anyone takes them seriously.
But with Rubio steering the ship, they’re certainly on the right track — which is more than can be said for a lot of other teams.
