HOUSTON, TX - NOVEMBER 18: Noah Vonleh #21 of the Portland Trail Blazers looks to pass the basketball over Ty Lawson #3 of the Houston Rockets during their game at the Toyota Center on November 18, 2015 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images)
Noah Vonleh admitted he had no idea how he ended up with possession of the ball in the final seconds of the Portland Trail Blazers’ home victory on Monday night, but he still proved to be the game hero.
The 21-year-old power forward scored an uncontested buzzer-beating layup to lift his team, who was missing resting starters Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum, to a 99-98 win over the San Antonio Spurs.
”I didn’t know the ball was going to bounce that way,” said Vonleh, who finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds. ”It just magically fell into my hands and we ended up winning the game.”
Watch Vonleh’s game-winner here:
From the looks of it, Blazers guard Shabazz Napier, who seemed to be playing in place of Lillard, was doing everything he could to help his team win as Portland still trailed by one point with six seconds left. Napier split two defenders and, perhaps accidentally, dribbled the ball off teammate Meyer Leonard’s knee.
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Spurs forwards Kyle Anderson and David Lee attempted to grab the ball, but Napier ran back into the mess and tipped it near the basket, where Vonleh happened to be standing.
Napier scored a career-high 32 points on 9-of-20 shooting for Portland, which has now won three straight games (and eight at home) one day after Denver’s loss to Oklahoma City gave the Blazers (41-40) the eighth and final playoff spot in the West.
Kawhi Leonard led San Antonio (61-20) with 18 points.
The Blazers gained an 88-87 lead with Napier’s 3-pointer before Bryn Forbes countered with his own 3 for the Spurs. A dunk from Jonathon Simmons and a basket by Kyle Anderson pushed San Antonio’s lead.
Following Pat Connaughton’s long jumper for Portland, his teammate and Blazers second-year small forward Jake Layman, dunked to trim the deficit to 98-97 with 12 seconds remaining. After San Antonio tossed an inbound out of bounds to hand Portland the ball back, and then came Vonleh’s big layup following the scramble under the basket that also left the Spurs confused.
”I have no idea what happened,” Spurs power forward David Lee said about the final series of events. ”It was one of those weird bounces, we looked at in on replay like 10 times and we still don’t know what happened. It was a ricochet play, it went off Kyle’s [Anderson] shin and someone’s leg … I can’t explain that one.”
The Spurs, who have lost two straight following a home defeat to the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday night, are second in the West behind the conference-leading Golden State Warriors. San Antonio will enjoy home-court advantage for its first-round playoff series against Memphis, who clinched the seventh seed on Friday.
In addition to McCollum and Lillard, the Blazers missed reserve guard Allen Crabbe, who missed a second game with a sore left foot.
Lillard set a franchise record with 59 points on Saturday night in a 101-86 victory over the Utah Jazz. He matched his career high with nine 3-pointers.
”We talked with Dame and CJ about what was best for the team,” said Blazers coach Terry Stotts, who convinced the two starters to take Monday night off. “I was more concerned about CJ because he’s played every game this season. That’s quite an accomplishment.”
Danny Green also returned for the Spurs, who led 76-71 going into the fourth quarter. The guard had missed seven games with a left quad contusion.
Lillard said the Blazers are going into the playoffs to ”shock the world.”
When he heard this, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich responded: ”Heck yeah! That’s the way he should be thinking.”
The Spurs play their final regular-season game on Wednesday in Utah, while the Blazers host New Orleans in their last game that same day. Even if Portland loses its final game, it can still finish the regular season with at least a .500 record.
”When I was in Milwaukee my first year we made the playoffs, we lost the last game of the season and finished 40-42,” Stotts said, adding that it’s special to do both – especially after being 11 games under earlier this season.
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