00:42 ET
Tim BontempsESPN
PHILADELPHIA. Today, nearly four years ago, Bones Hyland was told that his basketball career could have ended before it even began after he was forced to jump out of a second-story window of his Wilmington, Delaware home when it was engulfed in flames. injuring his right knee.
Instead, that moment has since established a connection between Highland, firefighters, and first responders who helped save his life that day. Those same firefighters, along with several hundred friends and relatives from Wilmington, were on hand to watch Hyland play for the first time as an NBA player on Monday night.
And not only did they see the Denver Nuggets rookie play, but they also saw him steal the show from NBA MVP leaders Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid, who were the main attractions entering Monday’s game.
Hyland hit four 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and scored 21 points overall to help Denver win 115–110 over the Philadelphia 76ers at the Wells Fargo Center.
“Every time I check in for a game I do a cross on my chest just to be thankful that I am still in this position just to play basketball because four years ago the doctors told me that I will never play basketball again,” Hyland said after the assistance. Denver closed a 19-point gap to take the win. “So this is what I thank the Lord for keeping me here and supporting me. This is what I play every day.
“I try to go out and play with joy and that loot and just be me all the time.”
In the fourth quarter for Denver (41–28), Hyland played with a bang, hitting all four triples in the fourth quarter and helping Denver edge Philadelphia 33–22 in the fourth, turning the game around and out of the game. with victory.
Highland, selected 26th overall by VCU Denver in the 2021 NBA draft, played for the first time in a city closest to his native Wilmington. And to celebrate, several hundred people – Hyland himself estimated 600-700 people – came to the Wells Fargo Center on Monday night to watch him play.
He was sure he put on a show for them, as he made three trebles in a row to put Denver ahead in the middle of the fourth – only to then make three more, which turned out to be the punch that put the Nuggets ahead for good with 1:51 left in fourth.
“Our bench was incredible,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “Bones Highland, I think he had 500 people representing his hometown tonight and showed up.”
Among those several hundred people in the arena on Monday night were firefighters who helped save his life on March 25, 2018, when a fire engulfed his home and ultimately claimed the lives of his grandmother and younger cousin. Before the game, he was presented with a special Wilmington Fire Department jacket.
When Hyland was asked about how much it meant to him that he was able to maintain this connection over the past few years, he asked to move on to the next question and, trying to compose himself for a moment, simply lowered his head. fell down and cried for a long time.
He said it was a world of opportunity for him to not only play in front of so many friends and family members, but to put on the performance he did to help Denver win.
“Just going back to my hometown, not far from my city, 30 minutes away, and putting on a show here is a dream come true for me,” Hyland said. “Like I always say, I’m a kid who wants to show the next kid in town that you could be me. When I was growing up, I never had anyone to show me the ropes and this guide, and so I want to be that guy for the youth and keep leading and showing them.”
What he showed them on Monday night is that he can help fire up Denver’s bench to lead the Nuggets to a win that came from behind, snapping a two-game losing streak. And, according to Hyland, he had the feeling that those loud shots had passed even before he had a chance to let them take off.
“I just knew that I would warm up and hit a couple of bombs,” he said with a smile. “I kept telling myself, ‘I know I’m going to hit. I know I’ll get in.” And I had two opportunities where I was wide open, and I used one, and there was one in transition, and I thought, “I let this opportunity fly,” and I let it fly, and that was the bottom.”
Ultimately, however, Hyland said he was delighted that he could continue to serve as a role model and symbol of what children growing up in Wilmington can become. He said that when he was growing up there, he did not have such a person to look up to.
But after a successful career in the VCU, where he was the 10th Atlantic Player of the Year last season before being drafted, and a promising start to his NBA career as a rookie this season, he said he hopes he can and continue to be such a player. a presence for everyone in his hometown moving forward.
“Honestly, it’s great, just that they came here, it shows the support system and gives me support,” Hyland said. “He is big. I don’t take it for granted because not many people have a great support system. They came and traveled even to the summer league, they went to Vegas cheering and supporting me.
“You do good to people, you get good in return. I am a very modest child. I wear my city on my forearm and I will always dress for my city. I play for things bigger than me.”