Nuggets' Danilo Gallinari Scores 40 Points for 1st Time in Career
Denver Nuggets forward Danilo Gallinari dropped 40 points in Sunday's 119-100 win over the Orlando Magic to set a new personal best for single-game scoring, per Joshua Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel.
The oft-injured 26-year-old forward made 12 of his 21 shots from the field, including six of his 13 attempts from beyond the arc. He also converted 10 of his 11 free-throw attempts, adding seven rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks, with only a single turnover.
It was easily Gallinari's finest showing of the season, as he previously hadn't scored more than 26 points in any game. He also recorded multiple blocks for the first time this season, upping his average for the campaign to a mere 0.3 swats per game.
Gallinari did all of this in a modest 33 minutes, hitting the 40-point mark with more than eight minutes remaining in the blowout victory. He was removed for good just a few seconds later, preventing him from making a run at 50 points.
Gallinari's previous career-high mark for points was 39, set back in December 2012 against the Dallas Mavericks, per Basketball-Reference.com.
His third-best total of 37 points was achieved in January 2012 against his former team, the New York Knicks.
Oddly enough, all three performances came on the road, even though Gallinari plays for a team that has arguably the biggest home-court advantage in the NBA due to the atmospheric conditions in Denver.
