The Game-Winning Shot at the Buzzer! (Part 1)
Everyone knew Wang Yi had a backcourt three-pointer in his arsenal.
But Wang Yi usually only attempted those backcourt threes at the start of a game. In a game this important, at such a critical moment, he generally wouldn't just launch one.
So the Suns hadn't bothered to guard against his backcourt three.
Besides, when Paul hit that two-pointer, the Suns had assumed the Kings would call a timeout.
They'd let their guard down for just a moment.
And Wang Yi took advantage, launching a backcourt three.
In truth, he was simply trying to save time.
He shot 45 percent from three-point range in the backcourt.
If it went in, great. If it didn't, Danny and Beverley were already charging in to fight for the offensive rebound.
And they had excellent position.
So after taking that backcourt three, Wang Yi wasn't worried about missing.
Even more astonishingly, the moment he released the ball, it felt good.
As the ball sailed through the air, he turned to Crowder and said, "You guys can inbound it now."
Crowder looked past Wang Yi's head into the distance behind him. The basketball seemed to cross mountains, clearing a high peak before slowly descending.
And then—
Swish—
Just as Wang Yi had felt, it dropped cleanly through the net.
The ball pulled the net diagonally downward as it passed through.
Like a flag of victory.
Backcourt three-pointer: good!
Time: 17.5 seconds.
Lead: 1 point.
The shot sent cheers pouring out of Golden 1 Center from every direction, spilling into the streets.
Outside Golden 1 Center, the more than thirty thousand fans in the plaza were jumping and dancing wildly, too.
That three-pointer had traveled almost the entire length of the court.
The Kings still trailed by one,