To be fair, the Atlanta Hawks squandered this game in heroic fashion down the stretch. But they could not have done that without a game-saving block from Marquese Chriss, which is an important detail.
So let’s get to this tire fire ending out West.
The critical sequence in Tuesday night’s game between the Atlanta Hawks and Phoenix Suns came with 12 seconds to go and the Suns leading by one point, 102-101. Devin Booker had just made three free throws, and the Hawks called a timeout.
After Atlanta inbounded the ball, Chriss actually appeared to misplay a pick-and-roll, staying high while Taurean Prince rolled to the hoop.
Chriss recovered, and blocked Prince at the rim with just six seconds to go.
marquese chriss did what now pic.twitter.com/YK5ikrBdUA
— James Herbert (@outsidethenba) January 3, 2018
Atlanta had to foul Booker after the rebound, sending him to the line to extend the game. Booker made two free throws, pushing it to 104-101.
Needing a 3-pointer, Atlanta’s Dennis Schroder decided to instead drive to the bucket and get the quick two points. The only problem with that?
The Hawks had just six seconds to play, and three seconds to go when Schroder actually took his shot.
I may have underestimated the #Hawks. With no timeouts, this is INCREDIBLE dedication to tanking.
— Fastbreak Breakfast (@fastbreakbreak) January 3, 2018
gonna be tough to catch @tankathon pic.twitter.com/OUbR6KKQik
That’s an incredible moment in clock management, and an even worse bounce for the Hawks on the layup.
Phoenix beat the Hawks, 104-103.
