Dion Waiters comes in the clutch with the “SHOT”
Following their nearly 30-point blowout win on Saturday, the San Antonio Spurs were back home for the second game in their series against the Oklahoma City Thunder. In comparison to the first outing, OKC came out with an edge and took an early double-digit lead; headlined by the heroics of both Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, scoring nearly a combined 60 points.
As the Spurs closed the gap before halftime to just a three-point deficit, they were never able to get a comfortable lead in the second half. With Tim Duncan having arguably his worst playoff performance and LaMarcus Aldridge’s 41-points in 43 minutes being the team’s only edge throughout the night, they found themselves still down four points with 30 seconds left.
Dion Waiters sitting at his locker, scrolling through his phone postgame: "He stepped on the line anyway"
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) May 3, 2016
In the upcoming moments, Aldridge was able to draw Serge Ibaka into a foul from deep, bring San Antonio to within one point. The Spurs soon had one last shot at putting OKC on the foul line, or the possibility of drawing a turnover and Dion Waiters had the play of the night.
With Manu Ginóbili crossing the in-bounds line to draw a five-second call, Waiters would push him back directly near referees and threw the ball to Durant. Unfortunately, Kevin wasn’t able to maintain possession, as San Antonio, who were still in disbelief, had one last shot in the game.
Also, per NBA rules, an inbounder may not "leave the playing surface to gain an advantage" on a throw-in. Waiters clearly jumped on the pass
— Chris Mannix (@ChrisMannixYS) May 3, 2016
Patty Mills would line up for a corner trey-ball, but a closeout from Steven Adams altered his shot – breaking the hearts of San Antonio. After the miss, both teams struggled for possession of the rock, as the final buzzer had rung – evening the series.
The referees missed two calls on the in-bound, but we do respect them for letting the players dictate the ending of this pivotal game. The Spurs now get to sleep on this loss for the next four nights, as game three won’t happen until this Friday, where OKC has a chance to take a series lead.
FINAL: OKC 98 – SAS 97 | Series Tied 1-1 | Game 3 Friday at 9:30pm ET on ESPN.
.@manuginobili shares his opinion on Game 2's controversial final play. https://t.co/9rx17njYtN
— NBA TV (@NBATV) May 3, 2016
Manu’s reaction to the final play
Dion Waiters made one shot. THE shot.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) May 3, 2016
.@KDTrey5 explains the craziness of the last minute to Game 2. https://t.co/VVbE7rqLI8
— NBA TV (@NBATV) May 3, 2016
Westbrook & Durant on to the last two crazy minutes
UPDATE: The NBA has come out and said the officials missed five calls on that last sequence of the game. Among what they missed: Ginobli stepping on the line, the Waiters push, Leonard and Mills grabbing jerseys before the in-bound and Ibaka’s hold of Aldridge.
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