On the one hand, one of the most “clutch” players of his generation. On the other, a young pivot who has rarely, if ever, found himself in this situation. There are 1.2 seconds left to play. Portland leads 113-111 in overtime thanks to Anfernee Simons. Jusuf Nurkic just sent Deandre Ayton to the throw line. The pivot has the possibility of sending the two teams in a 2nd overtime. But before he shoots first, Damian Lillard approaches him and whispers a few words to him. Ayton ignores it, but… he’s going to miss both!
“I just asked him, ‘Have you ever been in this situation?’ » says Lillard, proud of his pressure move. “It’s not easy to find yourself in a situation where you have to put the free throws. A game is not played on a possession, and a lot of things happen before, but it was an opportunity to equalize. I just asked him the question, because I wanted him to think about it a bit. Even though he ignored me, I thought he still had to think about it…”
In fact, Lillard also allegedly said to him: Do you think they trust you as the game is played out on this? »
In the end, it doesn’t matter since Ayton will miss his first throw, and he will throw a brick on the second, hoping for an offensive rebound and a tap from a teammate.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cv49rDAsocg
