Horry Scale: Spencer Dinwiddie stuns former team with buzzer-beating 3
Spencer Dinwiddie drills the 1st game-winning buzzer-beater of his career and silences Barclays Center.
A reminder on The Horry Scale: It breaks down a game-winning buzzer-beater (GWBB) in the categories of difficulty, game situation (was the team tied or behind at the time?), importance (playoff game or garden-variety night in November?) and celebration. Then we give it an overall grade on a scale of 1-5 Robert Horrys, named for the patron saint of last-second answered prayers.
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Spencer Dinwiddie spent five seasons playing for the Nets. He gave them another memory Wednesday night at Barclays Center.
After Luka Doncic and Kevin Durant exchanged lead-changing buckets in the final 30 seconds, Dinwiddie made a 3-pointer at the buzzer against his former team, giving the Dallas Mavericks a 113-111 victory.
Dinwiddie still has friends in Brooklyn, so this victory was more fun than mere revenge.
“It’s like sticking it to your cousin versus, like, being vengeful for an enemy,” Dinwiddie said.
GAME SITUATION: Dallas erased a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter and led 110-108 after Doncic’s jumper with 22.7 seconds left. Durant responded with a 3-pointer to set up the final possession with 10.6 seconds remaining. Doncic brought the ball upcourt after a timeout. He ended up with Nic Claxton guarding him on a switch, and Durant left Dinwiddie open to blitz Doncic. When Doncic saw Durant coming, he swung the ball to Dinwiddie.
DIFFICULTY: Dinwiddie is no stranger to clutch shots. Although this was his first career game-winning buzzer-beater, Dinwiddie has six go-ahead field goals in the final 10 seconds over the past 5 seasons — including three days ago in Boston. Only DeMar DeRozan has more over that span with seven. The attention on Doncic allowed Dinwiddie to get a relatively clean look with a second left on the clock. Goran Dragic was in the vicinity, but he was too late to contest the shot.
CELEBRATION: After hitting the game-winner right in front of Brooklyn’s bench, Dinwiddie met Doncic for an airborne shoulder bump at mid-court. Their teammates quickly arrived to join the party. In his postgame interview, Dinwiddie thanked Nico Harrison, the Mavs general manager who acquired him from Washington last month after a rocky stint with the Wizards. The celebration continued in the Mavs’ locker room with a proper dousing.
This man was getting away without a proper celebration #MFFL pic.twitter.com/F1aZspzSNh
— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) March 17, 2022
GRADE: Dinwiddie has found a home in Dallas. He’s gone from 12.6 points on 37.6% shooting with the Wizards to 17.9 points with the Mavs on 50% shooting, and the Mavs are 10-2 in games in which he’s played in with wins over the Heat, Warriors (twice), Jazz, Celtics and Nets. That’s a great sign as Dallas climbs the Western Conference standings ahead of the playoffs. Four Horrys.
