On this day, 20 years ago, Derrick Sharp buried a dramatic buzzer-beater launched a Maccabi Tel Aviv dynasty
Remembering Derrick Sharp's miracle shot
No conversation about the greatest baskets in EuroLeague history can be complete without Derrick Sharp's miracle three-pointer for Maccabi Tel Aviv against Zalgiris Kaunas, which took place exactly 20 years ago, on April 8, 2004.
It was a winner-take-all clash at Maccabi's home court in Tel Aviv to reach the Final Four, which would take place at that very same spot three weeks later. And while I have borne witness to many exciting buckets and dramatic finishes over the years, none topped this one.
Let's set the stage. The EuroLeague format was a bit different back then; teams were drawn into regular season groups and then advanced to the Top 16, which was comprised of four groups of four. Each group winner advanced to the Final Four.
Group G was made up of Maccabi, Zalgiris, Valencia Basket and Ulker Istanbul. Entering the sixth and final round, Maccabi and Zalgiris were tied with 3-2 records and only the winner of this Top 16 finale would continue to play.
There was little doubt in Tel Aviv who would win. The Final Four was already sold out and the city was abuzz with anticipation. Players had already made plans to fly in loved ones for the big event.
Zalgiris, however, was far from a pushover. It had defeated Maccabi 78-70 in Kaunas just a month earlier, led by Ed Cota and the legendary Arvydas Sabonis. And the Lithuanian champions were not afraid of the challenge that awaited them in Tel Aviv.
Led by Maccabi's star Lithuanian guard, Sarunas Jasikevicius, the home team flexed its offensive muscles early, scoring 30 first-quarter points to take the lead. However, Zalgiris stepped up on defense, limiting Maccabi to a combined 28 points over the next two quarters, and took a six-point lead heading into the fourth.
Nokia Arena, as Maccabi's home was then known, continued to believe, but as time passed and Zalgiris continued to score, the hosts' chances started to dwindle. Down by 5 points with 18.9 seconds left, star guard Anthony Parker split free throws. Seconds later, Cota made 2 free throws to make it 86-92.
Saras scored three the old-fashioned way, but with every necessary foul, Maccabi was growing weaker, as Parker and then Jasikevicius fouled out. The latter went out with 2.2 seconds left and, on his way to the bench, stopped to congratulate Zalgiris coach Antanas Sireika.
"In all of our eyes, the game was already lost," Jasikevicius later admitted in the Symphony in Yellow documentary.
The score was 91-94 and stepping to the line was Giedrius Gustas, who entering that game was perfect in 17 trips to the foul line that season. If Gustas made just 1 free throw, it would be a two-possession game. For Maccabi to reach the Final Four, it would need a miracle.
Gustas missed the first, but few got their hopes up knowing that even if he missed the second, 2.2 seconds was not enough time to control the rebound and get off a good shot to tie the game. However, Maccabi center Nikola Vujcic, who had been complaining during the game that Zalgiris big man Tanoka Beard was entering the lane early, said something to one of the referees before the second shot. Amazingly, Gustas missed again and Beard crashed the glass for the offensive rebound. The referee whistled for a violation. Maccabi would get the ball back.
Unlike today, when a timeout lets you move the ensuing inbound into the frontcourt, in those days Maccabi had to start from under the basket.
Gur Shelef took the ball out for Maccabi. Two players, Sharp and Tal Burstein, were in the area Shelef aimed for when he heaved his three-quarters court baseball pass.
"It's almost like the ball came directly to me. It barely missed, I think, [Zalgiris defender Ainars] Bagatskis's hands and another player's. Right over their fingertips," Sharp recalled. "And it just came, boom. Right to me."
Sharp, the smallest player on the floor, grabbed the ball, dribbled once, turned and shot a three-pointer on the buzzer to tie the game and change the course of history.
The score was 94-94, but it did not feel that way to either team or the fans in the building.
"The reaction is like, 'We won the game.' And for us, it was like, 'We won the game!' And for Zalgiris, it was like, 'We lost the game,'" Sharp explained. "The gym was back to life. At that point, I knew we were going to win the game. There was no doubt."
In overtime, Vujcic scored 4 points and dished 2 assists, Maceo Baston tallied 4 points and a critical block and Burstein also scored 4 as Maccabi outscored Zalgiris 13-5 to win the game, advance to the Final Four and launch a dynasty that proceeded with a record-breaking title-game victory that season, a successful title defense the next, and another appearance in the championship game in 2006.
Shelef shared that after the game, one of his friends told him: "This game, they will remember it years and years and years."
And 20 years later we continue to remember.