by TYLER HATHAWAY
Aquinas alum Jalen Pickett scored a career-high 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting while dishing out nine assists, bringing down three rebounds, and bagging two steals to help the Denver Nuggets defeat the Portland Trail Blazers 146-117 on Monday night. The win extended Denver’s league-best win streak to seven straight games.
Pickett played for 29 minutes, the second time in the last three games the point guard has logged more than 25 minutes after not seeing for more than 25 minutes in a game in the first 51 games of the regular season. Pickett saw 31 minutes of action in a Denver win Thursday that saw him finish with five points, five assists, and three rebounds.
“I’ve had a rough last year,” Pickett told reporters after the game. “You’ve gotta just love that, being able to go through challenges, find things that you’re good at after such a successful college career and coming here and basically starting over. It was tough at first. I kind of just fell in love with the grind and getting back in the gym and seeing where I could take my game.”
“His style of play helps him kind of calm down and see everything,” Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic told reporters about Pickett after the game.
Pickett is averaging 3.3 PPG, 2.0 APG, and 1.1 RPG while shooting 40 percent from beyond the three-point line this season.
Thomas Bryant (Bishop Kearney) has continued having an expanded role with the Indiana Pacers, averaging 7.4 PPG and 4.2 PPG in 15.5 minutes per game as a Pacer this season. He scored 13 points with eight rebounds and four assists Saturday against the Lakers and had 12 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, and a block on Thursday against the Clippers.
Isaiah Stewart (McQuaid) has scored in double figures in two of his last four games and is averaging 5.6 PPG, 5.8 RPG, and 1.2 BPG with the Detroit Pistons.
Jeenathan Williams (UPrep) has seen action in six games for the Houston Rockets this season. Williams scored a season-high nine points in the Rockets’ win over Denver in mid-January.
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