Damian Lillard, widely recognized as one of the NBA’s most lethal closers, splayed his hands into the air after being hoodwinked by a dude who wasn’t even in the NBA a little over a week ago.
Toney Douglas, the Grizzlies’ makeshift point guard, goaded Lillard into a shooting foul with an awkward double-pump jumper, dropping in two free throws with less than a second remaining to secure an 88–86 Memphis win.
Wonky things happen in the NBA. They’re just part of the random variance that comes over the course of an 82-game sample.
Except the Memphis Grizzlies are manipulating those weird constructs into a certified religion, squeaking out wins on a nightly basis by the skin of their teeth.