When presented with a wide-open 3-pointer midway through the second half against the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday, Andre Roberson passed it up.
He did no such thing with the game on the line.
Roberson made two 3-pointers in the final minute of the game to help the Oklahoma City Thunder overcome what had been a 24-point deficit and beat the 76ers 102-97.
Roberson’s first 3, which he made with 50 seconds left in the game, gave the Thunder their first lead since the score was 11-8 in the first quarter.
His second 3, which came 38 seconds later, was the dagger that ultimately iced the game.
Andre Roberson puts the @okcthunder ahead and extends the lead with back-to-back treys late! 👌👏#ThunderUp #WholeNewGame pic.twitter.com/djog8AZY96
— NBA (@NBA) July 26, 2020
The Thunder had struggled all through the first half and then fell even further behind in the second half, trailing 81-57 with 3:30 to go in the third.
Darius Bazley quickly cut into that with a pair of 3-pointers, both off Dennis Schroder assists, and then Schroder made a 3 of his own to cut the deficit to 15 with two minutes to go in the third.
Bazley finished the game with 13 points, tied for the second-most on the team.
“The biggest thing with Darius was he was aggressive,” head coach Billy Donovan said. “I think he made decisive decisions, whether they were good or bad. He had a couple plays that weren’t great, but he was decisive.”
By the end of the third quarter, the Sixers’ lead was down to 11.
The Thunder weren’t able to cut it to single-digits until Lu Dort made an impressive driving layup with 8:43 to go. Dort had a strong game, finishing with 13 points, the second-most of any starter.
Center Mike Muscala impressed late as well, making two 3-pointers in the closing minutes, and a tip-dunk that tied the game at 92.
Yet the Thunder still couldn’t pull ahead until Roberson made his first basket of the game with 50 seconds left.
Roberson is back. Even with just six points, he had six rebounds and a game-high plus-29.
“We’ve been saying that all along. This is an opportunity for Dre to show what he can do,” point guard Chris Paul said. “I’m just happy to see him moving and gaining that confidence game-by-game.”
And apparently, it’s not just the three-guard unit that is superb at closing games. The Oklahoma City team that was the best in closing minutes continues to be just that in Orlando.
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