‘It was surreal’: Magic ecstatic for Jeff Dowtin after game-winner

Dowtin was mobbed by his teammates and doused in water on Wednesday after hitting the game-winning shot over the Celtics.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Jeff Dowtin spent time in the gym on Wednesday practicing shots. The shots would be off one foot, off two feet after penetrating into the paint.

It was the same exact shot that he would later hit to send the Orlando Magic to a last-second win over the Boston Celtics.

With the Magic trailing by one point, and less than seven seconds left, Dowtin led his team down the court. He once again penetrated into the paint, took a dribble to his right and stopped. He made a move, pulled up and drained the 16-foot turnaround shot with 0.2 seconds left.

The shot sent the Magic to a 103-102 win to close out the preseason.

“It was surreal, man,” Dowtin said. “I’m still drenched right now. They threw ice water on me and a bunch of water on me. It just goes to show the great group of guys we have, the family atmosphere we have. That is the type of locker room you want to be a part of. Wins or losses, that team, we’re always together.”

The shot by Dowtin was possible by countless hours in the gym.

Dowtin spent last season with the Lakeland Magic, helping the organization claim the NBA G League championship. He played with Orlando in the Las Vegas Summer League and stayed on with the team throughout training camp.

The game versus the Celtics was his best of the preseason, finishing with 10 points. He previously logged just 11 total minutes in two games, while he sat out another game altogether.

Despite sporadic playing time, Dowtin stayed ready for his opportunity.

“He has put in so much work,” Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley said. “He hadn’t played a lot of minutes. He played in a couple of early games in the preseason and your hat goes off to guys like that who continue to put the work in. He never changed the way he has worked.

“I’m just so excited for him and those guys in that locker room were so excited for him, as well.”

Dowtin was stopped by every player on the roster when the final buzzer sounded, and he was doused in water once he reached the locker room. The team saw him put in the work every day, and were ecstatic for him when he drained that shot.

Said R.J. Hampton:

I felt great for Jeff. I’ve seen Jeff put in the work throughout summer league, preseason and training camp. He deserves it as much as anyone on this team. I had the utmost confidence in him when I saw him with that ball in those last few seconds. I knew that was good when it left his hands.

The shot likely caps off a strong run by Dowtin with the Magic during the preseason.

He signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Magic and will likely re-join Lakeland in the coming days but will do so with plenty of fans inside and outside of the organization after Wednesday night.

This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

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