The Minnesota Timberwolves appeared ready to surrender to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder's newest weapon had just drilled a shot that would knock the wind out of any team, especially one competing on the road. But there was still time left on the clock, which meant that there was still time for a miracle. They just needed someone to step into the void and knock down a game-winning shot. Enter Andrew Wiggins - defensive liability, shooting savant, and all-around hero on Sunday evening.
Wiggins to the rescue
With less than ten seconds left on the clock, the Thunder trailed the Timberwolves 112-110.
Paul George sent the inbound pass to Russell Westbrook, who quickly found Carmelo Anthony waiting on the wing. With no hesitation, the former New York Knicks star hoisted up a three-pointer, which found nothing but net, to the jubilation of the home crowd. It seemed like the Thunder would survive - until Wiggins entered the picture.
With no timeouts and 4.7 seconds left on the clock, Taj Gibson started the inbound sequence. He tossed the ball to Wiggins, who started frantically dribbling up and around the court. With just over a second left on the clock, Wiggins stopped his dribble about halfway between the center logo and the three-point line and hoisted one up. Sure enough, the shot banked off the backboard and in as the buzzer sounded, giving the Timberwolves the surprise 115-113 victory.
Carmelo Anthony drills late go-ahead 3 for the w-NOT SO FAST.
— Rob Perez (@World_Wide_Wob) October 23, 2017
WIGGINS AT THE BUZZER 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/PykJMylEUg
After the game, Wiggins was asked by the media if he "called glass," which players jokingly do when their shot hits the backboard, rather than swishes through the net.
He claimed he did not, before teammate Karl-Anthony Towns interjected and claimed "he called game," a la Paul Pierce in the playoffs a few years ago.
Timberwolves' strong start
Minnesota is now 2-1 to start the year and their new era. They acquired Jimmy Butler, Taj Gibson, and Jeff Teague in a flurry of moves over the summer to try and snap a long playoff drought.
But the star of the first few games has been Wiggins, the holdover. He has a newfound tenacity to his offensive game, scoring at a higher clip than expected with all of the new talent surrounding him.
The Timberwolves gave Wiggins a boatload of cash before the start of the season, extending him with a max contract. So far, he is rewarding ownership with All-Star caliber play and late-game heroics that are sure to put people into the seats for every home game going forward.
