It’s difficult to be more iconic than the epilogue of the match between the Atlanta Hawks and the Washington Wizards on May 9, 2015. Paul Pierce, at the end of his career, finds a way to continue to inscribe his name in the memories of fans. And with style.
A great basketball game involves great players. And that evening, the floor of the Verizon Center in Washington was filled with them. In the starting five, Ramon Sessions, Marcin Gortat, Nenê, DeMarre Carroll or Pero Antic are ready. On the benches, the sweet names of Shelvin Mack, Mike Scott and Drew Gooden may also bring back fond memories. A great sadness that our national Kevin Séraphin remained on the sidelines.
Far from the spotlight until now, the series of the second round of the 2015 Playoffs between the Hawks and the Wizards is unforgettable in several respects. Between NBA 2k, the truth and the board, this is the Trashtalk file of the day.
A scenario made in Wizards, until the moment of “truth”
In the spring of 2015, it’s pretty good to be a Washington Wizards fan. After five seasons of total mediocrity (between 2008 and 2013), the young duo John Wall – Bradley Beal is putting the capital back on track. A good appearance in the conference semi-finals in 2014, then a rather satisfactory new season to confirm. The Wizards have 46 wins in the regular season for the first time since… 1979. Of course, the bar is not very high, but understand anyway.
Apart from its magical duo, the squad also includes a legend in decline: Paul “The Truth” Pierce. After a title and a slew of All-Star and All-NBA selections with the Celtics, the 37-year-old legend plays mentor. To start the Playoffs, a resounding sweep against the Raptors boosts Washington’s morale.
But the next opponent is anything but a sick dinosaur: the Atlanta Hawks, first in the conference with a regular 60 victories. With their squad as balanced as it is complementary, beating Mike Budenholzer’s group promises to be quite a challenge. Against all odds, the Wizards win Game 1 away… but lose John Wall to injury. Without their All-Star, they suffered the attacks of Paul Millsap and Al Horford and gave up Game 2. With their backs to the wall, Wall unavailable, the fans of the capital were angry.
THIS JUST IN on @SportsCenter: Wizards coach Randy Wittman says John Wall is OUT for Game 3 due to hand injury. pic.twitter.com/6G687T0peR
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) May 9, 2015
But these Wizards have resources, and attack Game 3 with fanfare. The moon was perhaps special that evening, since Nenê sent 13 points in a well-controlled first period. After a successful stint at PSG, the Big Man no longer has a bandage on his nose and lives again in the District of Columbia in the NBA. At 66-85 at the start of the last quarter, the Wizards just have to close the session? Just say it for Ramon to forget his basketball, and a magnificent choke begins to show the tip of its nose.
Atlanta sends its bench, which… catches fire. A 21-year-old Dennis Schroder scores 16 points in 10 minutes, while Mike Scott also goes there with his two bombs from his office. The Wizards shot 6 of 17 in the last quarter, and Mike Muscala took care of equalizing at 101-101 a few seconds from the end. A 35-18 run, Wizards in text.
But the legend who sleeps in the Washington squad does not hesitate to come and put his two cents in there. Despite his 10 small points at 4/11 shooting, Paul Pierce asks for isolation to deliver the room. Glance at the clock, step-back, big board and buzzer. Bang-Bang, the match is won.
Six star trashtalk, only the truth hurts
Paul Pierce, his back to the ground and his limbs in a star shape, does a plank on the floor as the Verizon Center explodes. Bradley Beal celebrates miming boxing blows on his teammate, while even John Wall and his broken left hand join in the merry mess. But while everyone comes to their senses, The Truth becomes even more legendary with a sublime interview.
Chris Broussard, microphone in hand, approaches to ask the star how he feels at the moment. He even allows himself to slip: “Did you announce the board?”. Pierce looks him straight in the eye and proudly declares: “I‘announced the end of the match’. The original version is even more iconic for those who have mastered Shakespeare. Devastating.
“Did you called bank ?”
“I called game.”
Paul Pierce steps back and banks in the game winner on this day in 2015! #NBAVault pic.twitter.com/70y3kp26Yq
— NBA History (@NBAHistory) May 9, 2020
In an evening definitely unlike any other, Jeff Teague and Dennis Schroder finished as the game’s top scorers with 18 points each. But the German was the victim of a magnificent lost ball after the match. Visibly a little frustrated, he first declared:
“It was a lucky shot and we lost the game.”
The Truth obviously wasn’t going to let this go to waste. The rest is a marvel of trashtalk:
“Of course Schroder is going to say I’m lucky, he’s probably too young to have seen my last 17 seasons, of course he’s going to say it’s ‘lucky’. But he probably misses that kind of shot when he takes me on NBA2K.”
Game, set and match, Dennis will not return. Well, only on the floor. Because history wouldn’t be Wizards without a loss: Washington lost the next three games. From 2-1 to 2-4, the hopes of the conference finals are dashed. In the decisive Game 6, Paul Pierce sends another absolutely sensational buzzer… which does not count for a tenth of a second. “I thought I was going to have a heart attack” Jeff Teague then declares. Once, but not twice.
Source texte : Basketball Reference, Slam
2024-05-09 09:39:00
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