It may very well be unprecedented in the annals of basketball.
Harris's game-winner might have made basketball history, too
Članak
3 Min čitanja
Believe it or not, the last two shots made by C.J. Harris of Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse in the 7DAYS EuroCup were both game-winners.
You read that correctly. What's more, those shots came almost exactly one month apart.
On January 18, in Italy, Harris stunned host Umana Reyer Venice by coming out of a timeout with 1.9 seconds left to hit a three-pointer on the buzzer to send his team home to Bourg with a 78-81 road win and a step up from last place in the Group B standings.
Harris, the team's leading scorer this season, then missed Bourg's next two games with COVID-19, only returning to the EuroCup stage on Thursday, February 17, in a Round 13 make-up home game vs. group leader Gran Canaria.
Harris struggled in his return, missing the only two shots he had taken in his first 9 minutes on the floor. But then, with the score tied 76-76 and 22.5 seconds remaining, both Bourg and Gran Canaria huddled on the sidelines during a timeout to plan for the final possession.
The EuroLeague TV microphones picked up Bourg head coach Laurent Legname setting up a final shot for Harris, just as he had a month earlier. Obviously, Legname knew in his gut that Harris was the right choice. And Harris came through, again.
He ran a pick-and-roll with Alexandre Chassang to force Gran Canaria to switch on defense and thus was able to get pesky defender Andrew Albicy away from him. Facing big man Oliver Stevic instead, Harris went to work. He got Stevic on his heels with a cross-over dribble and pulled up for a jumper from the top of the lane. This time, it was the Bourg home crowd that could celebrate as the shot fell through with 3 seconds left, good enough for the victory.
Just like his last made shot in the EuroCup boosted Bourg's playoffs chances, so did Harris's next one on Thursday, leaving the team with a 5-8 record in eighth place.
Harris played just 9:30 total on Thursday, which was the fewest of the 10 players Coach Legname used from his roster. Before the game-winner, he was the only player who hadn't scored until then.
Rasheed Sulaimon, who led Bourg in scoring with 21 points, was one of the first to celebrate with Harris after the shot fell. After the game, he shared his joy in Harris – and the team's success:
"He's been out with COVID for a long time, hasn't scored in the whole game. Our whole team trusted him to make the biggest shot, and he came through. I just love this team. I love how we stay together."