Malik Beasley pulled a Gary Trent Jr. at the worst possible time for the Detroit Pistons.
The Pistons lost 116-113 to the New York Knicks on Thursday in Game 6 of their first-round playoff series. The defeat gave the Knicks the 4-2 series win, ending the Pistons’ season.
After Knicks star Jalen Brunson hit what appeared to be a dagger three-pointer with 4.3 seconds remaining, the Pistons got an opportunity to tie the game thanks to the timeout that they had to advance the ball. The New York defense scrambled at Detroit star Cade Cunningham, leaving Beasley wide open for three on the right wing.
The only problem? Beasley fumbled the pass out of bounds for a game-sealing (and season-sealing) turnover. Here is the video.
The fumble by Beasley was also ironic because of some comments that he made before the game. Speaking with reporters at shootaround, Beasley said that the Pistons were the “mentally stronger team.”
A wide-open three-point attempt by Beasley would have had a great chance of going down since he shot 41.6 percent from deep during the season, making a career-high 319 three-pointers overall. But instead, we will never know what would have happened since Beasley bungled his opportunity to be the hero.
The Pistons put together an impressive season, winning 44 games (a 30-game turnaround from last season) and earning their first playoff victory since 2008. But they came apart down the stretch of the elimination Game 6, blowing a late seven-point lead and shooting 1/12 on threes in the second half. Detroit will be kicking themselves about how that series ended, especially since Game 3 was also similarly heartbreaking.
