The Orlando Magic took a 107-106 lead late in the 4th quarter to seal what seemed to be the dagger that would win the game as Aaron Gordon and Jonathan Simmons celebrated near midcourt while the Los Angeles Lakers called timeout, hoping to scratch up a play that would at least give them a shot at winning with around six seconds remaining in the game.
As the ball was inbounded, the pass went into the post to Brook Lopez who was being draped defensively by Nikola Vucevic. One fake and a drop stop, Lopez got an open look but missed near the rim as Vucevic fouled him. Although Lopez was rewarded two free throws, the foul prevented the three-point conversion.
Lopez calmly sank the first shot, and then the second, beating his chest with confidence afterward, after not even taking a single attempt the entire game until that moment. It gave the Lakers the lead with just 0.6 seconds on the clock.
This is where things got weird. The Magic called for a timeout to draw up their own play, and as they inbound the ball, the pass was lobbed to Gordon, who under the rim, and was tipped out of bounds met with a jubilant Staples Center crowd. But the game officials interjected.
After a short deliberation, in some bizarre way, it was revealed that the shot clock had started before anyone touched the ball, which would normally be a reset and the ball would be inbounded once more.
In this instance, the officials called for the play to be a jump ball which made a normally calm Frank Vogel livid as his team was placed in a no-win situation, and their chance at a victory taken away faster than half a second.
To his objection, the play stood, the jump ball commenced, and it was game over, Lakers had won by two clutch Lopez free throws in one of the most bizarre endings this season.
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