Josh Giddey Buried An Incredible Half Court Game Winner To Cap Off One Of The Wildest Finishes You'll Ever See On An NBA Court

Michael Reaves. Getty Images.

Yes, I know today is Opening Day and the NCAA Tournament is back and that's where 99.9% of the focus of the sports world is tonight. But what we just saw take place in Chicago was one of the more insane NBA finishes in recent memory. I'd argue it's one of the wildest endings you'll ever see so frankly, my hands are tied. Allow me to set the stage.

The Bulls were down 91-75 entering the 4th quarter against the LeBron/Luka and the Lakers. Things weren't looking too hot when the lead ballooned to 18 points with 10:18 left in the game. From there, absolute chaos ensued. By the 5 minute mark, the Bulls were within 10. Coby White started to do Cody White things and bury a flurry of threes. Then came a Patrick Williams three, then a Kevin Huerter three, and then a Vucavic three. Now it's at the 2 minute mark, and this is suddenly a 4 point game. Plenty of time left as long as you execute. 

After another Kevin Huerter three, we had a 1 point game with 46 seconds left. Things were crazy enough just to get to this point, and little did we know what was coming 

That's some Reggie Miller at MSG or TMac vs SA type of shit if I've ever seen it. Ideally, you don't give up a three there if you're the Lakers, but whatever. It's a 2 possession game with 12 seconds, and the Bulls have to foul. You're still up 2, just get the ball in and win the game at the FT line.

Is that what the Lakers do? Of course not. LeBron throws a lazy inbounds pass that Josh Giddey is able to steal, he finds Coby White and AGAIN we see the Bulls make a gigantic three, this time for the lead with 7 seconds left. Game over right? 

There's plenty of time on the clock for the Lakers to get a good look at a game winner of their own. At the end of the day, they have enough elite iso scorers where someone can get a good look. From this moment, all hell broke loose

HOLY SHIT

That's all I keep saying to myself every time I watch that clip. Talk about a wave of emotion! I double dog dare you to watch this entire end of game sequence and tell me it wasn't electric as hell. This is why I never understand people who try and tell me that the NBA is a bad product and that the games are boring. Are you all braindead? This is the shit that happens every night! OK, well maybe not this exact sequence, but you get the point.

That was a great ATO by the Lakers to get Reaves going to the rim with that fake DHO, that's the exact type of play you want to run in that situation. Something to force rotation at the rim, and at the very least, you set yourself up for an OREB putback if needed. Credit JJ for that one. Unfortunately, they left WAY too much time on the clock. You have to get that down closer to 0.0 simply to avoid what happened next.

In terms of the Giddey shot, I mean, that's an all time feeling. A halfcourt game winner at home to beat LeBron and Luka? I'm not sure it gets better than that. These Bulls man, they won't go away. Their pesky. Josh Giddey is playing out of his goddamn mind as is Coby White. Can they get out of the Play In? Shit, playing like have been I don't think you can rule it out. I know March basketball is mostly fake in the NBA as everyone is just trying to get to the playoffs or their offseason, but both of these teams definitely are still trying, and it's not like this was an insignificant game. 

With this loss, the Lakers are tied with MEM for the 4/5 spots, so homecourt in the first round is definitely not set in stone. On the bulls side, they've now won 4 in a row and are inching closer and closer to the 7/8 Play In which is obviously a much better place to be than the 9/10. They now trail ORL by only 1 in the loss column and are 8-2 over their last 10. Their entire season could very well come down to that half court game winner. 

Consider this Example #234873498235 of why you should be watching the NBA every night. Here we are on a casual Thursday night in late March, and we got one of the best finishes you'll ever see on an NBA court.