CLEVELAND — A guard who spent most of Tuesday night playing what witnesses described as “deeply concerning basketball” was instantly forgiven after hitting a buzzer-beating three to win the game.
“Never doubted him,” said a fan who had requested his benching approximately four minutes earlier.
The player finished with six turnovers and shot poorly for most of the night, but replay footage confirmed that the final attempt traveled through the basket before the horn, retroactively transforming the performance into “clutch greatness.”
Broadcast graphics immediately highlighted his confidence while omitting a sequence in the third quarter in which he missed three consecutive shots and threw a pass directly into the second row.
Teammates mobbed him at midcourt, erasing the collective memory of several possessions during which they had visibly refused to give him the ball.
Analysts later praised his short memory, while fans demonstrated an even shorter one.
By midnight, the game was remembered exclusively as the night he could not miss.
