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It was back on November the 13th of 2014 when Memphis Grizzlies guard Courtney Lee pulled off a ridiculous reverse lay-in off an inbounds pass to win the game for Memphis at the buzzer.
That night the Sacramento Kings were the victim of a miraculous Grizzlies inbounds play at the buzzer.
This time, the Phoenix Suns were the victim.
Instead of finishing the play, Lee was inbounding, with 0.8 seconds on the clock and the score tied at 93-93, after Suns guard Brandon Knight had an untimely turnover on the other end. Lee lobbed the ball up to a high-flying Jeff Green who slammed down an incredible dunk over Suns big man Jon Leuer as time expired to give the Grizzlies an improbable 95-93 win. The refs then put 0.5 seconds back on the clock but the Suns couldn’t get a clean look at the basket.
P.J. Tucker was the Sun who originally was tasked with guarding Green on the final play and as soon as Lee realised this, he knew where the ball was going. “I told (Green) I was going to throw it to him if I saw P.J. Tucker’s numbers,” Lee said. “He went up and made the play.”
“It was just trying to get it to Jeff (Green) on the lob.” Memphis head coach Dave Joerger explained. “They are generally a switching team so you expect that maybe you get a switch in that situation. He (Lee) made a great pass. You can make an error with Jeff (Green), but he threw a perfect pass. But Jeff really launched it and got it and if the pass was going to be errant, at that point Jeff can really get up there”
“I’ve hit a couple buzzer beaters in my career. You don’t like being in close games like that but it’s always fun when you pull it out and get the win.” Green explained, who then went on to be very appreciative of Lee’s pass on the final play. “Courtney [Lee] was the quarterback. He had reads and made a play. That’s what it’s about – being a playmaker and that’s what he is. He made a great play, I’m happy it was able to work out.”
In other action, the Golden State Warriors remained perfect, defeating the Brooklyn Nets by a final score of 114-98 at the Barclays Centre.
In their previous meeting back on November the 15th in Oakland, the Nets had the best chance to knock off the Warriors. Brook Lopez missed a point blank lay-in at the buzzer and the Nets would go on to lose in overtime.
The rematch seemed to be heading down to the final minutes as well, as the Nets battled the Warriors tough through the first three quarter. Although, as he does so often, MVP Stephen Curry caught fire at the end of the third quarter, finishing the period on a 11-0 run to cap off a 16-point quarter. Golden State would then go on to outscore the Nets 27-18 in the final quarter to account for the final score.
With the win, Golden State extended their perfect start to the season, as they now sit with a pretty 22-0 record. The Warriors already have the record for most consecutive wins to start a season but they added another dint in the NBA history books with the win in Brooklyn. The Warriors tied the 1969/70 New York Knicks for the best road start in history, as they are now 12-0 away from Oracle Arena.
Australian Andrew Bogut returned after missing the last game with back spasms. Coach Luke Walton put him straight back into the starting line-up and in just under 16 minutes of action (15:52) Bogut had four rebounds and two blocked shots. He however failed to get on the score sheet, missing his only shot attempt on the night and both his free throws.
The Kobe Bryant retirement tour moved onto to Detroit, as the Los Angeles Lakers battled the Pistons. The Pistons, while honouring Bryant before the game, weren’t as kind after the opening tip-off, running out to a 15-0 lead after the first three minutes. The Lakers would hardly get any closer for the rest of the night, going down to Detroit by a final score of 111-91.
Bryant was struggling a stomach bug throughout the game and it showed, as he finished with only five points on 2/15 shooting from the field. “If it wasn’t my last season, I probably wouldn’t have played,” Bryant explained, as he received an IV after the game.
For the Pistons, they wrapped up a four-game home stand with a perfect 4-0 record, as they also defeated the Houston Rockets, the Suns and the Milwaukee Bucks during the stretch. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope top scored for the Pistons, finishing with 22 points while Reggie Jackson wasn’t too far behind with 20. Andre Drummond put up another double-double, his 18th of the season, as he put up 18 points and 15 rebounds.
Elsewhere, the Oklahoma City Thunder survived a late scare from the Kings, as a Kevin Durant jump shot with 23 seconds left allowed the Thunder to escape with the 98-95 win, after the Kings outscored the Thunder 31-22 in the final quarter.
It wasn’t all good for Durant on the night though, as he finished the game with 10 turnovers, despite his 20 points. Russell Westbrook had himself a night, finishing with his third triple-double of the season, with a stat line of 19 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.
Rudy Gay top scored for the Kings, finishing with 20 points. Star centre DeMarcus Cousins struggled on the night, finishing with only 13 points on 5/20 shooting from the field.
In Washington, the Wizards inconsistent play continued, as the visiting Dallas Mavericks left the D.C. with a 116-104 victory.
Wesley Matthew’s had himself a career night, finishing with 36 points (tied his career high), which included 10 three-pointers and 28 second half points. Eight of Matthew’s 10 three-pointers were in the second half, which helped the Mavs pull away for their 12th win of the season. Dirk Nowitzki had 19 points and six rebounds for Dallas.
Washington were led by John Wall, who finished with 28 points, although he needed to leave the game with 1:14 left after banging knees with Jeremy Evans.
Wall had to be helped off the court and into the locker room by Wizards teammates, as the injury bug continues to bit Washington. For the third time in eight days, the Wizards had just 10 players dressed and active for the game.
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