Chicago Bulls fans tried to rattle Matthew Dellevedova by booing him throughout Game 6. It didn’t work.
The 24-year-old Australian led the Cleveland Cavaliers with 19 points in their 94-73 series-clinching victory. According to Dellavedova, he could hardly even hear the noise.
“I don’t really hear that,” he said after the game, per Chris Fedor of Northeast Ohio Media Group. “Well, I mean, I’ve played at Gonzaga & BYU, and it’s definitely a lot louder, the boos there.”
For a second-year player who averaged just 4.8 points and 20.6 minutes per game during the regular season, Dellavedova certainly doesn’t lack confidence.
Why were Bulls fans booing him? It probably had something to do with the leg lock he put on Taj Gibson during Game 5, which ultimately resulted in Gibson being ejected.
In any event, Dellavedova stepped up in a huge way on a night where Kyrie Irving — who is dealing with a knee injury — got some much-needed rest down the stretch. That’s part of the reason LeBron James had all of those nice things to say about Dellavedova after the game. His level of confidence is right where it needs to be at this stage in the postseason.
