Sharife Cooper on Tuesday produced a team-high 21 points but it was his 3-pointer as time expired that sent the Atlanta Hawks to an 84-83 win over the Indiana Pacers in the Las Vegas Summer League.
Trailing by two points with less than 10 seconds remaining, the Hawks recovered the ball following a missed shot to set up Cooper.
He backpedaled to the 3-point line in the corner and let it fly as the ball found nothing but the bottom of the net.
“Once I saw Max (Heidegger) get it, I just ran to the corner and, God-willing, it went in,” Cooper said. “I was like, ‘They better not overturn this! It feels good to get a win and (also to) feel good about ourselves going into the next one.”
The @ATLHawks keep the play alive and Sharife Cooper fires from the corner to WIN IT at the BUZZER! #NBASummer pic.twitter.com/BIb5zbrFrC
— NBA (@NBA) August 10, 2021
Cooper was immediately mobbed by his teammates after hitting the shot. It got those on hand at the Cox Pavilion out of their seats, including teammate Trae Young, who had a rather great reaction.
Young is among several Hawks players in attendance in Las Vegas to watch the group compete.
Sitting courtside, Young immediately jumped out of his seat onto the court, and later revealed he was nearly tackled by security for leaving the sideline.
His reaction to the scene on Twitter was just as good as jumping onto the court.
“GET TF OFF THE COURT TRAE” 😂😂😂 My fault… Covid Rules👍🏽 https://t.co/OQpQYoxfPh
— Trae Young (@TheTraeYoung) August 11, 2021
Once the chaos cleared, though, Young eventually saw Cooper and the rest of the team. Cooper, as he told Young after the game, was just trying to emulate him by hitting the game-winning shot as time expired.
“He was like, ‘Good shot, killer,'” Cooper said. “That’s kinda what he said. I just joked around with him, ‘I got it from you!’ I watched (the Hawks) all season, watched him hit countless big shots. I can’t wait to get in the gym with him and work with him.”
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Cooper, who was the 48th overall pick, also added nine assists and one steal in 29 minutes of work. He finished the contest by shooting 8-of-14 from the field, including 5-of-8 from 3-point range.
The 20-year-old falling to the Hawks in the second round was among the biggest surprises of the draft. He was most commonly projected to be a first-round pick, and some even had him going to the Hawks at No. 20.
Cooper acknowledged that the draft is in the past now, and he is squarely focused on the Hawks and summer league. Certainly, that would seem to be the case after his effort on Tuesday.
This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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