Lost in the craziness of Russell Westbrook securing the all time record for triple doubles in a season and also putting the kibosh on the Denver Nuggets playoff dreams with a buzzer beating three (there was a lot going on last night) was the fact that Danilo Gallinari put up a season high in scoring with thirty four points, including 22 in the third quarter. An impressive feat to say the least. In what very well may have been Gallo’s last game in Denver wearing a Nuggets jersey he made sure not to disappoint putting on a full array of shooting, drives to the rim and, yes, getting to the free throw line to lead the Nuggets to what should have been a win.
Gallo of course has the option to opt out of his contract at the end of the season, something that by all accounts is going to happen and whether or not either he or the Nuggets are interested in agreeing to another deal is anyone’s guess at this point. Certainly the door seems to be open but Gallo is due to get paid and the Nuggets have to figure out if they can fit him, and Mason Plumlee, on a roster that over the two offseasons following this upcoming one will have every deal expire outside of the three rookies. The financial reality of it all, along with Gallo being a built older than the Nuggets new core, makes for a not so clear situation on the Italian’s long term future with the team. So if last night does in fact end up being Gallo’s last home game in Denver then we should all be thankful to get to see such a marvelous performance one last time. Grazie per i bei ricordi Gallo.
