When he went into the NBA in 2012, 2:18 AM ETAndrew LopezESPN Jonas Valanciunas wasnt precisely a marksman. In fact, in his very first 5 seasons in the league, he went 1-of-4 from 3-point range.But those days are long gone.Valanciunas struck his first 7 3-pointers on Monday night– all in the very first half– as he assisted lead the New Orleans Pelicans to a 123-104 win over the LA Clippers.The 6-foot-11, 265-pound bruiser has actually gradually started to add the three-point shot to his video game since 2017, but hes never ever had a night like Tuesday when he scored a career-high 39 points to support 15 rebounds.” Guys were calling him Dirk Valanciunas,” Pelicans coach Willie Green said, referencing Dallas Mavericks fantastic Dirk Nowitzki. “But we want him shooting the ball when hes open and mixing it in. He still wants to go to the post, which I like about him. Hes a physical guy. However simply describing to him how its going to open our offense up with his ability to shoot the ball the way he can, it was amazing to see tonight.” Valanciunas joined Stephen Curry as the only players this season to tape at least 35 points, 10 rebounds and 7 3-pointers in a game– and both did it against the Clippers. Valanciunas also ended up being the first gamer in NBA history to have 7 3-pointers and 7 offending rebounds in the exact same game.He is simply the sixth player because play-by-play tracking began in 1996 to go at least 7-of-7 from 3-point range in a half, signing up with Trevor Ariza (2014 ), Curry (2013 ), Ben Gordon (2012 ), Shawne Williams (2011) and Raef LaFrentz, according to ESPN Stats & & Information research.In his first 18 games, Valanciunas was shooting 56.4% from deep. However he went 1-for-11 in his three video games prior to Tuesday and it appeared that his portions were returning down to Earth.But when the very first two shots entered, Valanciunas kept letting them fly. He went on an individual 14-4 run in the second quarter, including a stretch throughout which he made back-to-back-to-back 3-pointers that sent the Pelicans bench into a frenzy.By the time the night was completed, Valanciunas had improved to 30-for-58 on 3-pointers this season– a league-leading 51.7%. Hes 2 away from tying his career high for 3 in a season, which he set two seasons ago in Memphis.But he knows he has a long way to go before he can live up to his new nickname.” Well, Im still Jonas Valanciunas,” the 10-year veteran said with a chuckle. “Everybody wishes to be [Dirk] Hes one of the best huge guys in the video game. But I still got ta work a lot to be like him.” Im just taking whats out there. If I have an open shot, Ill take it. Ill keep taking it if Im making it. Its as easy as that.” Valanciunas career-high 7 3s comes simply 10 days after he set his previous career high when he went 5-of-9 on Nov. 19 against the very same Clippers team, although that video game was played in New Orleans.” We simply could not stop him,” Clippers coach Ty Lue stated Monday night. “We were due for a bad defensive video game, however Valanciunas made 7 3s.” ESPNs Baxter Holmes added to this report.
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In his very first 5 seasons in the league, he went 1-of-4 from 3-point range.But those days are long gone.Valanciunas hit his first seven 3-pointers on Monday night– all in the first half– as he helped lead the New Orleans Pelicans to a 123-104 win over the LA Clippers.The 6-foot-11, 265-pound bruiser has slowly begun to add the three-point shot to his game since 2017, but hes never had a night like Tuesday when he scored a career-high 39 points to go along with 15 rebounds.” Valanciunas joined Stephen Curry as the only gamers this season to record at least 35 points, 10 rebounds and 7 3-pointers in a game– and both did it versus the Clippers. He went 1-for-11 in his 3 video games prior to Tuesday and it appeared that his percentages were coming back down to Earth.But when the first 2 shots went in, Valanciunas kept letting them fly. He went on a personal 14-4 run in the second quarter, consisting of a stretch throughout which he made back-to-back-to-back 3-pointers that sent the Pelicans bench into a frenzy.By the time the night was completed, Valanciunas had improved to 30-for-58 on 3-pointers this season– a league-leading 51.7%.” Valanciunas career-high 7 3s comes simply 10 days after he set his previous profession high when he went 5-of-9 on Nov. 19 against the same Clippers team, although that game was played in New Orleans.
