While much of the world was doing some final prep for Thanksgiving on Thursday, finishing their grocery shopping and traveling to their eventual destinations, the Los Angeles Lakers and Indiana Pacers were having it out on the hardwood.
That, of course, is not something that we would normally be covering here at Ducks Wire, but former Oregon Ducks’ star Chris Duarte gave us something to smile about. His heroics in the game, where he played 30 minutes, scored 17 points, and made an improbable three-pointer to send the game into overtime, were certainly worth talking about. While football is on the minds of many on this Turkey Day, Duarte made sure that basketball got some airwaves as well.
CHRIS DUARTE. IMPOSSIBLE. Overtime in Indy!!! pic.twitter.com/PD5TosITPz
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) November 25, 2021
One person who was certainly impressed with Duarte is a man who needs no introduction. LeBron James was on the other side of that OT-forcing shot from Duarte, and though the Lakers eventually had the last laugh with a 124-116 victory, King James made sure to give the rookie out of Oregon some love.
I asked LeBron about #Pacers rookie/No. 13 pick Chris Duarte, who sent it to OT with a 3.
“We had the (No.) 22 pick this year in the draft and we worked him out at our facility, and he didn’t miss a shot. I was like, ‘Ain’t no way in hell we getting this kid.’
“He’s big time.” pic.twitter.com/yWnvl9H3Pu
— James Boyd (@RomeovilleKid) November 25, 2021
It’s been great to see Duarte get some love in the NBA so far this year, and his role has grown with the Pacers to the point where it’s not a shock to see him have a chance to do things like this.
On this Thanksgiving Day, that’s something we are surely thankful for.
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