Anatomy of a game-winner

Kevin Punter blew up the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs on opening night with a game-winning three-pointer from the wing. Here's how it happened.

After Punter's free throws had put Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade ahead 84-86 on Real Madrid's floor with 34 seconds left, Gabriel Deck immediately responded with a three-point play for an 87-86 lead with 21 seconds left.

In the timeout to set up Partizan's last play, Zeljko Obradovic first designed an inbounds strategy from the far end of the court, and then instructed his players to screen high to force a switch by Real's defense and then make their move with 6 or 7 seconds left to take a three-pointer or draw a foul. "After that, the defense won't foul [purposefully]," he said right before the players walked on court.

Real defended the inbounds well, forcing the pass to Partizan center Mathias Lessort, who had to bring the ball across midcourt, arriving just barely before an eight-second violation. There he handed the ball off to Punter. Real could have trapped Punter in the corner formed by the mid-court and sidelines, but chose not to. That's when Punter took over.

Punter asked for a screen from Lessort right away, forcing a switch. His defender, Nigel Williams-Goss, went with Lessort, leaving Punter to be guarded by power forward Guerschon Yabusele, who was playing center at this point due to injuries to Real centers Walter Tavares and Vincent Poirier. As Punter dribbled to the left wing with 9 seconds left, Partizan's spacing made it difficult for Real to run another defender at him and force him to pass. There were shooters in both corners and the other wing, while Lessort had an advantage near the basket against Williams-Goss until the latter switched with Mario Hezonja. But by then, Punter was making his move.

He went between his legs, crossed over and stepped forward as if to shoot, bringing Yabusele a step towards him, but keeping his dribble alive. In that split second, Punter sidestepped out of Yabusele's range, sprang into the air and let the shot fly. The rest is history.

"The ball was in his hands;" Obradovic said after the game. "I was asking that he be the one to decide the game. Whether for two or three, it did not matter. This wasn't his first time, and I hope it will not be his last. He does that in practices. He is dedicated. And thanks to the fact he works on his shot, endless repetitions, it has practically become an automation for him."

Indeed, Punter's teammates were the least surprised of all.

"Every day in the practice he does it," Aleksa Avramovic said. "Whether it is pick-and-roll, one-on-one, low post, he comes in early, an hour, hour and a half, and practices his shots. It is not much for him. He hit it already against Monaco when we secured the playoffs."

As Punter explained it: "We just wanted to switch. I knew that if we could switch, I could just milk it down and hit my spot."

Said and done, one for the memories.