The Los Angeles Lakers were trailing by 3 points against the San Antonio Spurs with 15 seconds remaining in regulation. Point guard Rajon Rondo had a chance to cut the lead to 1, but opted to pass on a wide open lay-up at the cup, and kicked the ball out to Josh Hart on the wing. Hart's defender, DeMar Derozan, stayed home on him and the play ended with a contested LeBron James triple attempt that ultimately closed the door for the Lakers, which dropped another close one to the Spurs 110-106.

Many of those who watched the game believe that Rondo made a bone-headed decision by not taking that shot. But the feisty Lakers point guard defended his case after the game.

“We didn't have any more timeouts,” Rondo told Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. “You know, I thought I could probably suck somebody in [on the Spurs' defense off the Lakers' 3-point shooters], but they did a great job of staying home. The layup would have gotten us one point closer. We'd still have to foul, but we didn't have any timeouts, so maybe … I just made a split decision, and we didn't get what we wanted.”

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Rondo is arguably one of the smartest players in the league. He gambled by passing up a wide open shot at the rim for a three to tie the game. But San Antonio's defense stayed honest by not giving up any wide open threes on the play, so kudos have to be given to them for making a clutch defensive effort.

Nonetheless, had Rondo made the shot and cut the lead to one, the Lakers still had plenty of time left to foul and come down in transition to make a last-ditch effort to send the game into overtime. Ultimately, his gamble just did not work.