Playoff basketball always comes down to moments.
It’s hitting a clutch midrange to take the lead. It’s two free throws that should have gone in. It’s a slight touch on an out-of-bounds play. It’s getting a crucial call that goes your way. It’s stepping up when it matters most.
These moments define winning and losing.
And for Deandre Ayton, his biggest postseason moment was an unbelievable game-winning alley-oop that gave the Phoenix Suns the Game 2 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.
The final sequence came down to flashes of brilliance from the Suns. It was a video review that allowed the team to huddle. It was coach Monty Williams designing the perfect out-of-bounds play. It was Jae Crowder with the utmost precision to nail the perfect pass. It was also Devin Booker setting the screen that freed Ayton to run straight towards the basket.
“That’s definitely Jae’s game-winner, making a great pass over a 7-footer,” Ayton said. "Other than that, coach drew a great play where I was in the best position. My teammates trust me, my coaches trust me. Book set a great screen that freed me up into the lane to at least gather my feet and go for the ball. And the rest is just off my athleticism and my talent. Jae set it up right there perfectly.”
Ayton finished the game with 24 points and 14 rebounds, missing only thrice in 15 attempts. His alley-oop finish was the cherry on top of his incredible stat line. It also represented how far he’s come in just his third year in the league.
.@DeandreAyton rises for the game-winning slam with 0.9 left on the clock! 😱 #ThatsGame #RepublikaNgNBA
— NBA Philippines (@NBA_Philippines) June 23, 2021
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Much has been said about the 2018 NBA Draft Class where Ayton was selected first overall. Revisiting a draft has always been a point of contention, more so if you have a generational talent in Luka Doncic who went third, as well as fifth overall Trae Young whose team is now in the Eastern Conference Finals. The number one pick has been somewhat under the radar for the past three years compared to Young and Doncic.
But Ayton has come into his own alongside the Suns’ rise. In 12 games in his first postseason, Ayton has been averaging 16.3 points on a blistering 72.6 percent shooting clip and 10.8 rebounds. His go-ahead basket with 0.7 seconds left wasn’t just a random series of events. It was a player seizing what was in front of him. His outstanding play is the product of constant preparation, work, and opportunity.
"Monty definitely made me a super gym rat,” Ayton said about his coach. “He really instilled that in me where I constantly want to sharpen my screws and just be the best I can be. … Just to see the results now at a high level and where we are right now, I don’t want to get out of the gym, and that’s what he really instilled in me and I kept it going."
Ayton was the star of the game because of his winning shot, but Cameron Payne deserves recognition as well.
Payne’s best game came in the form of a career-high 29 points on 50 percent shooting, nine assists, two steals, two blocks, and zero turnovers.
“I’m just trying to hold it down till he comes back,” Payne said, referring to Chris Paul who’s still out due to health and safety protocols. "My only thing is no turnovers. I’m trying to keep that same identity because I’m the point guard. I just try to go out there and hold it down for C (Paul), play my game, and just live with the results."
Payne’s best playoff performance so far was also a product of various occurrences throughout his career. From being Russell Westbrook’s pregame dance partner in Oklahoma City to going back and forth in the G League, having a brief stint in China, playing in the bubble with the Suns last year, and finally making a name for himself this season.
Inversely, the Clippers will be haunted by Game 2’s final sequences. Paul George missed two important free throws in the last eight seconds. And after forcing Mikal Bridges to miss the corner three, the Clippers failed to secure the rebound. In Ayton’s game-winner, it came down to the minor defensive lapses during the inbound play.
Game 2, much like most of the playoffs, came down to fleeting, split-second moments.
Payne finally got his redemption. After years of just trying to stay in the league, he’s now contributing to a contender that's only two games away from the NBA Finals.
As for Ayton, his #ValleyOop will now be etched in Phoenix Suns history. It was him meeting the most important moment of his young career.
