Ron Artest was heavily derided for his poor shot selection at the end of Game 5 between the Suns and Lakers in the Western Conference Finals. Artest missed two jumpers with his team up by three 101-98 and a minute left in the game. He wound up being the hero getting the miracle put-back on a Kobe Bryant miss at the buzzer but he was looking like the goat up until that point. Ron explained his reason for taking those outside shots by saying he was going for the back-breaker. I understood his logic, realizing that if his three fell, the Lakers would have locked it up. Well Artest had the exact same opportunity in Game 7 and he nailed it. With the Lakers up by three, 76-73, Ron Artest made a three to put the game out of reach. Here’s a video of Ron Artest’s three-pointer in Game 7 to beat Boston along with several other highlights (Artest’s three-pointer is at the 1:15 mark):
If Artest doesn’t make that shot, the Celtics would have had a good chance to come back and tie things up, so to me it was a back-breaker. Luckily he made it otherwise we wouldn’t have been able to hear Ron Artest thank his psychiatrist after the game.
Video Credit: YouTube user Navjoent
