With 1.2 seconds left in overtime, Portland Trailblazers center Jusuf Nurkic fouled Deandre Ayton to send the Phoenix Sun's center to the free throw line. The Blazers had just taken a two-point lead following Anfernee Simons drilling a hook shot but Ayton had a chance to send the game to a second overtime. Damian Lillard, who finished the game with 41 points, walked over to Ayton at the charity stripe and asked him a simple question.
“I just asked him, ‘have you ever been in this situation before?' I wanted him to think about it a little bit,” Lillard said postgame. “And then when he ignored me, I felt like he was thinking about it.”
Damian Lillard on what he said to Deandre Ayton at the foul line at the end: "I just asked him, 'have you ever been in this situation before?' I wanted him to think about it a little bit. And then when he ignored me, I felt like he was thinking about it."
— Sean Highkin (@highkin) October 22, 2022
Ayton, who converted 80% of his clutch time free throws last season, missed the second attempt at the line and the Suns walked away with their first loss of the season. Devin Booker (33 points, 11-of-23 shooting) brushed off Ayton's miss after the game.
“It’s the NBA,” he said. “Those guys are trying to win, too, and they’re professionals so there’s going to be nights like that.”
After beating the Suns, Portland has now started off 2-0 to begin the 2022-23 season. Lillard appears to be back to normal after battling with injuries all of last season while Simons, (16 points, 5-of-17 shooting) looks like he has taken the next step in his development after landing a $100 million extension with the Blazers. Nurkic, who has dealt with his own injury woes for the better part of his career, finished with 20 points and 17 rebounds.
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