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For the second time in as many games, the difference between a win and loss for the Cleveland Cavaliers and Brooklyn Nets came down to a single play.
On Tuesday, it was an impressive dunk by Donovan Mitchell over Yuta Watanabe that the Cavs All-Star freely admitted changed the feeling of a close game. On Thursday, it was a game-winning three by Isaac Okoro.
After the game, Okoro kept his feelings simple, pumping out a tweet that encapsulated his sentiments about making his first NBA game-winning shot.
“Best Feeling Ever,” Okoro tweeted after the game.
With the win, the Cavaliers took the season series against the Nets 2-1. It’s a promising sign after it was reported that the Cavs hope to see the Nets in the first round of the playoffs.
Isaac Okoro Sounds Off on Game-Winning Shot Over Nets
After the game, Okoro explained how the play unfolded that saw him get the ball with seconds remaining. It all started with a pair of missed free throws by Mitchell, which surprised Okoro.
“I saw Don miss those layups and I’m just standing, I’m shocked,” Okoro told reporters after the game, per the Cavaliers’ official YouTube channel. “Then the ball goes out to Caris. I’m just running to the corner, going to my spot, Vert trusted me, threw me the ball, and once it left my hand, I knew it was going in.
Okoro also stayed honest about how the stakes behind that shot, reminding reporters that he practices that shot regularly to maintain his confidence.
“There was a lot of pressure into the shot, of course, but I practice that. I’m gonna keep being confident in it, my teammates are gonna keep trusting me and passing me the ball in the corner and I’ll keep taking it.”
Okoro picked the right time to find his three-point stroke. He entered the game on a cold streak, having gone zero-of-three from deep over his last two games. But in Thursday’s contest, he put those concerns in the rearview, going three-of-four from deep, including that game-winner.
Coach Bickerstaff Lays Into Donovan Mitchell
As Okoro noted, the game could have been iced if Mitchell had made his two free throws with the Cavs trailing by two.
After the game, head coach JB Bickerstaff noted Mitchell’s missed free throws, expressing his relief that the team didn’t quit battling until the end.
“I thought we did a great job defensively of getting some stops to put ourselves in that position,” Bickerstaff said after the game. “You know, you missed the free throw, we had multiple opportunities at it, but guys didn’t quit on the play.”
If anyone was thrilled about Okoro’s made shot, it was Mitchell, who grinned from ear to ear after the made shot.
“If you see my reaction when the ball goes in, I’m kinda like looking around like what the hell just happened,” Mitchell explained, per Chris Fedor of cleveland.com. “I think everybody else had the same thing.”
The Cavaliers get a few days off before taking on the Houston Rockets Sunday in Cleveland. The rest of Cleveland’s schedule is an eminently winnable one, with matchups against the Magic, Pacers, and Hornets among the bunch.
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