It was a play added to the Washington Wizards’ offense a day earlier, and it was drawn up for a guy, Paul Pierce, who has been doing this sort of thing for the better part of two decades.
With three defenders near him, Pierce made a fall-away, 21-foot jumper that went in off the backboard at the buzzer to lift the Wizards over the visiting Atlanta Hawks, 103-101, on Saturday night, despite the absence of John Wall and after letting a 21-point lead evaporate.
As he left the court after giving the Wizards a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinal series, Pierce was asked on television whether he had called “Bank!