Kentavious Caldwell-Pope hits game-winning 3 in double overtime (Video)
With the Detroit Pistons and Portland Trail Blazers badly in need of a win Sunday night, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope drilled the game-winning three-pointer in double-overtime.
The Detroit Pistons and Portland Trail Blazers are both chasing bottom-rung playoff spots so far in 2016-17. When they squared off Sunday night, both teams were looking for a win to turn around their recent misfortunes.
In a tightly fought battle, the visiting Pistons outscored Portland by seven in the fourth quarter and had a three-point lead with 24 seconds to play. A C.J. McCollum three-pointer with eight seconds left knotted the game at 106, and Detroit was unable to sink the game-winner on a missed Reggie Jackson shot down the lane.
In overtime, a McCollum three — this time with 22 seconds remaining — once again forced an extra five minutes. And once again, a missed shot from Reggie Jackson denied the Pistons their chance of netting the game-winner.
In double-overtime, with 11 seconds to play, Van Gundy once again entrusted Jackson with the ball…except this time, as the inbounds passer. Jackson found a wide open Kentavious Caldwell-Pope curling toward the three-point line, fed him the ball, and watched the young shooting guard drill the eventual game-winner.
.@CaldwellPope with the 2OT game winner at the Moda Center ???????????? pic.twitter.com/88rQPVQ3VZ
— NBA TV (@NBATV) January 9, 2017
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, 23, is having his most promising season yet, averaging 14.7 points per game while shooting 39 percent from three-point range. He finished the game with 26 points on 9-of-14 shooting.
Suffice it to say that the 2016-17 NBA season hasn’t gone according to plan for the Detroit Pistons OR the Portland Trail Blazers.
After an unexpected 44-win season and second round playoff appearance in 2015-16, the Blazers spent their summer re-signing all their young talent to lucrative deals. Unfortunately, Rip City’s defense is one of the worst in the league, contributing to the team’s disappointing 16-23 start.
The Pistons, meanwhile, were a young team with a talented starting five that spent its summer bolstering what was one of the worst benches in the NBA. Unfortunately for SVG’s group, Detroit is 1.5 games out of a playoff spot in the East — even with Sunday’s win — thanks to an 18-21 record. Perhaps that kind of dramatic victory can help them build some forward momentum.
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