Luka Doncic does not remember seeing a piece of rim before leaving the blow. He was unbalanced, stumbling when splitting a pair of Memphis Grizzlies defenders after catching the left wing with 1.8 seconds left and releasing the centimeter runner behind the 3-point line.
But Doncic saw her on the move, his momentum taking him to the tape as the ball splashed through the net, giving the Dallas Mavericks an amazingly unlikely 114-113 victory Wednesday at FedExForum in Memphis.
“I was really surprised when he came in,” said Doncic, who celebrated the winner, whom he called “a bit lucky” by walking calmly to the baseline before raising his hands in triumph and being assaulted by his teammates. Mavericks team. “These are the best feelings ever.”
These moments quickly became part of the 22-year-old superstar’s tradition.
According to ESPN Stats & Information, this was the fourth 3-point game in the last five seconds of the fourth quarter or overtime in Doncic’s career, including in the playoffs, beating the Denver Nuggets’ Jamal Murray the most. such blows since Doncic entered the league in 2018-19.
Doncic, whose step back 3 to the buzzer won game 4 of the Mavs first-round playoff series against the LA Clippers last year, joins Bojan Bogdanovic of the Utah Jazz as the only NBA player with more buzzer-winning game in the last two seasons. (Doncic’s 3-pointer to beat the Boston Celtics on Feb. 23 doesn’t qualify because he has a tenth of a second left on the clock.)
“Sometimes you’ll succeed, but sometimes you’ll miss it, too,” said Doncic, who is 10-of-25 on equal potential or on initial kicks in the last 30 seconds of a game in his career. success rate of 40%, which compares favorably with the career totals of the most prolific clutch stars, such as LeBron James (57 of 178, 32%), Kevin Durant (43 of 143, 30%) and Lillard (37 of 106, 35%).
“You have to take that too. I think that’s the most important part. If my team trusts me at the moment, I’ll keep working on it.”
It took a minor miracle for Doncic to have a chance at a victory for Dallas. After Doncic missed a free kick with 3.2 seconds left, Grizzlies guard Grayson Allen took over and was fouled a second later by the Mavs with two points.
Allen, who came in as a 90.6% free throw shooter, could have sealed the victory by making both shots. But he missed them both, setting the stage for Doncic to work a miracle.
“In these situations, you get a win in a game like this once on the blue moon,” said Mavs coach Rick Carlisle, whose team improved to 30-24, a game behind the Portland Trail Blazers for sixth place in the standings. Western Conference. “It simply doesn’t happen very often. Luka made one of the signatures, special photos that you will see for a long time.
“This is one of those happy nights we escaped. We had Houdini. He brought us out of here alive.”
However, Carlisle said he “expects” Doncic to do this type of shooting, as do the other Mavs available during post-game media availability. Their confidence does not only come from Doncic’s record during the games. They saw him hit countless high-difficulty shots during training and shooting, many even when tangled.
For example, after warming up a few hours before Monday’s loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, Doncic juggled the style of football with the ball until he was a few feet in front of the tunnel in the corner of the American Airlines Center. He grabbed the ball with his hands and shot it, suggesting it from about 40 meters away – and behind the painting – a shot that went viral after being caught by ESPN cameras.
So, a blocked triple from one leg was not a shock, even with a game against the Grizzlies in eighth place in the game.
“Look at this. That’s what I’m thinking,” said Mavs center Dwight Powell. “I have full faith that he will have at least one chance, but I’m putting my money on it.”
Carlisle said he learned not to bet against Doncic in any shooting cases, saying he “lost thousands of dollars” to Doncic outside of half-field shooting bets.
“Once in Mexico City [his] In the second year I paid him in pesos because I was so upset about it, “Carlisle said, laughing.” I don’t bet on him anymore, because I saw him do everything. I saw him calling for scams in the middle of the yard. I saw him hit the ball from 40 feet. Every time we go into practice and he sits on a table lying behind the basket and says, “Hey coach, if I make a shot, is training over?” I always look at him as “Forget him, not at all,” because he will make the shot. He’s going to make a shot in a way.
“He’s just a very, very special and unique guy when it comes to these kinds of things. He sees angles and possibilities and has a belief system that very few of us can understand. Quite amazing things.”