Nah’Shon “Bones” Hyland on Wednesday produced a career-high off the bench and helped the Denver Nuggets to a win over the Indiana Pacers without Nikola Jokic.
Hyland registered 12 points, four assists and three rebounds in 22 minutes of work during the 101-98 victory. He finished the contest by converting on 3-of-8 shot attempts, including 2-of-5 from 3-point range, while also going 4-of-5 at the free-throw line.
The performance marked his first time scoring in double figures.
Hyland earned praise from head coach Michael Malone after the game. Malone thought Hyland helped bring energy and effort off of the bench while he was also pleased with a couple of key plays down the stretch to seal the win.
You have a young player in Bones Hyland who, with the dribble, can get to places on the court. You put him in pick-and-rolls and he can get downhill. What I love about Bones is when he gets into the paint and gets around the basket, he is not forcing tough shots. He is finding guys. He is playing with the poise beyond his years.
The play of Hyland, in addition to his outgoing personality, has made him a fan favorite in Denver. The crowd at Ball Arena seemingly gets amped up each time he checks into games and when he makes a play for himself or others on the court.
Hyland can tell Nuggets fans are beginning to enjoy watching him play.
I’m getting more and more comfortable being out there and, as you can see, more stuff is being displayed and I’m showing a lot more. That’s what I do is get the crowd involved. I’m a fan favorite and I can already tell – that has been me my whole life. It’s just going to keep happening as the season goes on.
The Nuggets recently moved Hyland into the rotation in an effort to help create more scoring off of the bench. The team ranks near the bottom of the league in bench scoring and wants Hyland’s ability to drive into the paint and create on the court as much as possible.
Hyland has brought just that, and believes the best is yet to come.
Me being able to get into the lane whenever I want and then creating for myself and also creating for my teammates. I’m putting so much pressure on the defense because they don’t know what I can do. Once my shots start falling then it’s really going to get scary.
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— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) November 11, 2021
The Nuggets are staying afloat in the Western Conference this season without Jamal Murray. Jokic has played at an MVP level while the team is also getting contributions from others, including Will Barton, Aaron Gordon and Monte Morris among others.
Hyland will continue to get playing time off the bench and could emerge as a key contributor in the future. Performances like the one on Wednesday night could be a sign of things to come.
This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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