Tuesday night's matchup between the Sacramento Kings and the Utah Jazz ended in the most dramatic way possible. With just 0.4 seconds left in the game and the Jazz down by two points, Lauri Markkanen sank a wild buzzer-beater that would have given Utah a one-point win. The shot was eventually waived off, though, which resulted in the Kings barely escaping with the victory.
For starters, here's another look at Markkanen's incredible almost-game-winner:
LAURI MARKKANEN HOW?! š¤Æpic.twitter.com/8prPLyLO0Q
ā ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) January 4, 2023
It really looked like Markkanen got that shot off in time. Upon further review, however, the referees decided otherwise.
Sacramento star Domantas Sabonis has now spoken out about their near-heartbreak at the hands of the Jazz. He knew that Markkanen didn't have enough time to take a shot, but by his own admission, doubt crept into Sabonis' mind the moment he saw that ball hit the bottom of the net:
āOnce I saw him catch it with his back to the basket, I didn't worry because he has to catch it and turn around,ā Sabonis said. āI was like, āWhatever'. But then you knowā¦ we're the Kings and I was likeā¦ Well, we might have lost.ā
Domantas Sabonis on the last play with Lauri Markkanen: "Once I saw him catch it with his back to the basket, I didn't worry because he has to catch it and turn around. I was like, 'Whatever'. But then you knowā¦ we're the Kings and I was likeā¦ Well, we might have lost."
š pic.twitter.com/5uZBXgrgMy
ā HoopsHype (@hoopshype) January 4, 2023
What a roller-coaster of emotions Sabonis and the rest of the Kings must have gone through at that time. As you can see by his reaction, he's just totally relieved that the referees decided to make the call in their favor.
As Sabonis implied, the Kings haven't exactly been the luckiest team in the NBA over the past few years, so it's great that they finally caught a break.
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