Denzel Valentine’s Buzzer-Beater Gives Bulls NBA Summer League Title After Win Over Timberwolves

Shooting guard Denzel Valentine scored the tying 3-pointer in regulation, then made a jumper at the buzzer in overtime to give the Chicago Bulls an 84-82 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves in the NBA Summer League finals in Las Vegas on Monday night.

Denzel Valentine’s Buzzer-Beater Gives Bulls NBA Summer League Title After Win Over Timberwolves

Valentine — who was selected by Chicago out of Michigan State as the 14th overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft — was scoreless on 0-for-6 shooting through three quarters, but the 22-year-old kept fighting until the end. His 3-pointer with 0.2 seconds remaining forced overtime after Tyrus Jones had just awarded the Timberwolves a 77-74 lead on a 3 with 3.6 seconds left.

Minnesota’s Xavier Silas tied the game again on a 3 with 11.7 seconds to go in OT, but Valentine worked the clock down before making his spinning jumper in the lane as Chicago finished 7-0.

“I’m here for a reason,” Valentine said. “The Bulls picked me up to be a confident player and come through when the team needs me and be a winner. That’s what I preached during my draft interviews. I just keep winning on my mind.”

Bobby Portis and Jerian Grant led the Bulls with 26 and 24 points respectively. Portis landed on the all-tournament team while Grant received championship game MVP honors.

Star guard Dwyane Wade, who joined the Bulls earlier this month on a two-year deal worth $47.5 million after 13 seasons with the Miami Heat, tweeted his congratulations to Valentine all the way from China, where he was promoting his new sneaker:

“They left me open for a reason because I didn’t make any shots during the game,” Valentine joked about the game-tying shot. “I would’ve left me open too.”

Assistant coach Charlie Henry drew up the play that Fred Hoiberg ran at least once last season, producing a game-winning Jimmy Butler 3-pointer.

“From the moment we saw him, the moment he came to work out for us, he’s a confident kid,” said assistant coach and summer league head coach Pete Myers. “He’s not afraid of the moment or the situation.”

Right on the same UNLV campus just hours before the Summer League championship game, the U.S. Olympic Men’s Basketball Team held its first training camp practice. The Olympics begin Aug. 5 in Rio, and the US hopes to be playing for a third consecutive gold medal on Aug. 21.

Jones, the Most Outstanding Player of the 2015 Final Four, added yet another award to his résumé this summer. The Timberwolves point guard won Summer League MVP honors and finished with 27 points.

ST LOUIS, MO – MARCH 18: Denzel Valentine #45 of the Michigan State Spartans in action during the first round of the NCAA Basketball Tournament game against the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders at Scottrade Center on March 18, 2016 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)