Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
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SALT LAKE CITY — Welcome to From Left Field! Here are three sports stories worthy of a second look this morning.
Matt Barnes hits ludicrous game-winner
Memphis' Matt Barnes has been all around the NBA, and has always been known for doing things in a somewhat unorthodox way. When it comes to game-winning shots, the man has a reputation to uphold — there's simply no chance he's going to sink one in the same way virtually any other player would go about it.
With roughly five seconds to go and the Grizzlies trailing by two points in Detroit, Barnes collected a rebound under his own basket. He took off down the court, but this is where things got interesting. Instead of doing what literally 99 percent of all other humans would do in this situation — get as close as time will allow to the opposing basket — Barnes decided to mix it up. Take a look.
Time be darned, Barnes is pulling up from halfcourt even if he still had two full seconds to work with. When the shot goes in, who's to argue with his choices?
Arena employee busts a move
Sometimes, the NBA basketball game you're working just isn't quite entertaining enough. That was the case for this attendant Wednesday night, despite being at a game in Boston that eventually became pretty fun in the second half.
This guy is feeling it. Shouldn't he be on a stage for "America's Got Talent" somewhere rather than wasting his time with this simple job?
High school buzzer-beater seems more legitimate
Is it weird to say that a high school game decided on a heave at the buzzer was more legitimate than the NBA one above just because time was actually fully elapsed by the time the ball hit the netting? Well, sorry, that's what I'm saying.
This is how you end a game, folks. You don't just score the points from a ludicrous distance, you score them at a time where your opponent will have literally zero chance to make them up.
So the camera work could have been a bit better, sure. This one still towers over Barnes' finish, and you'll never convince me otherwise.
