The Suns gifted NBA fans one of the best plays in playoff history on Tuesday with a game-winning inbounds alley-oop with 0.9 seconds remaining in regulation. It is now known as the "Valley-Oop."
The buzzer-beating play itself was incredible, but the circumstances surrounding it make it that much better: It was a perfectly drawn-up play that took advantage of a seldom-used NBA rule, was made possible only because Paul George missed two critical free throws and, of course, gave the Suns a 2-0 series lead in the Western Conference finals.
Here's a reminder of what it looked like, for posterity's sake:
DEANDRE AYTON FOR THE WIN 😱
— ESPN (@espn) June 23, 2021
UNBELIEVABLE GAME WINNER!! pic.twitter.com/tcHwtzUcty
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The play sent the entire crowd at Phoenix Suns Arena into a frenzy — all except two, it would seem. From a fan video of the play:
Anyone else see this? Watch to the end! @Suns #priceless pic.twitter.com/ThaHxhE6pM
— Jeremy Rodriguez (@jeremyr_az) June 23, 2021
Excellent work by Jeremy not only to capture the play live but also have the wherewithal to pan left and capture Stephen A. Smith and Michael Wilbon with their jaws on the floor.
That said, there's still work to be done for the Suns, who will look to be the first team this postseason to beat the Clippers after going up 2-0 in their series — LA has already come back twice from 0-2 deficits to defeat the Mavericks and Jazz. The Suns and Clippers will play Game 3 at LA's Staples Center at 9 p.m. ET Thursday.
