The NBA is good for a half-court buzzer-beater every once in a while, but you would be hard-pressed to find one more unlikely than the one New Orleans Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram put in on Sunday.
With the clock ticking down in the second quarter of the Pelicans’ game against the Denver Nuggets, Ingram was trying to advance the ball over the timeline to at least have a chance at a long three. Denver played aggressive defense, and Ingram actually lost possession before he could even advance the ball. At that point, it didn’t even look like Ingram would have the chance to get a heave attempt up.
Ingram managed to corral the ball enough to toss a total desperation heave toward the basket, and it went in — much to his own shock.
BI, WHAT?? https://t.co/xAVgeiTopJ
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 7, 2022
Ingram’s smile tells the whole story. There was absolutely no hope on his part that the effort would end up anywhere near the basket, much less what actually happened. He was barely even looking toward the basket when he tossed it up.
In that sense, this was the polar opposite of this classic heave from the 2017 playoffs.
