Pelicans stun Thunder with Devonte' Graham's 61-foot buzzer-beating shot

Two unbelievable shots in two seconds. 

That’s an oversimplification of what happened at the end of the Oklahoma City Thunder-New Orleans Pelicans game Wednesday night at Paycom Center. 

A game nobody outside of Bricktown or the Big Easy had any business caring about produced a finish, a 113-110 Pelicans win, that might not be topped in the NBA this season.

The Thunder trailed the Pelicans 110-107 with 4.5 seconds left. New Orleans had already shown its hand by fouling with a three-point lead, and there was no reason to think the Pelicans coach Willie Green would change strategies. 

Sure enough, when Thunder rookie Josh Giddey inbounded the ball to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Pelicans guard Garrett Temple tried his best to swipe Gilgeous-Alexander. But Gilgeous-Alexander is as slippery as they come. 

The Thunder star side-stepped free from Temple to launch an off-balance, on-the-run 30-foot 3-pointer. 

Money. 

“I knew they were gonna try to foul because they were up three with a little bit of time left, so I tried to get away from the guy as fast as possible,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I wanted to go right because I know that’s my comfort zone.” 

Gilgeous-Alexander’s swish ripped the net with 1.4 seconds left. 

“He did a really good job of getting the shot off,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said.

“They might have hit him,” Daigneault added. “I thought they were a little handsy, because they were trying to give (the foul), and I wonder if they gave one in the act of shooting. I didn’t see every angle.” 

Fans were still awestruck by the time the Pelicans inbounded the ball to guard Devonte' Graham. The Thunder, and everyone else in the gym, was mentally preparing for overtime when Graham caught the pass on the run, dribbled, and then launched a desperation heave from 61 feet. 

Sixty-one. 

The ball floated through the air, and all anybody could do was eye its arc all the way into the basket with an assist off the glass. 

“I turned around, and it looked pretty good in the air,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “As it got closer to the net, it looked better and better.” 

“As soon as it left his hands,” Giddey said, “I kinda had a feeling it was gonna go down.” 

The Pelicans flooded the floor. The Thunder stood in shock. 

Nothing unveils emotion quite like a buzzer beater. It’s all so abrupt. 

Graham’s shot was the longest game-winning buzzer-beater in the last 25 years, according to ESPN Stats & Info. 

Also from ESPN Stats & Info: The Thunder-Pelicans game was the first in the last 25 years to feature multiple game-tying or go-ahead shots from 30-plus feet in the final five seconds.

“Two great shots,” Daigneault said. “Crazy shots.”