Here's What Damian Lillard Said to Deandre Ayton Before His Missed Free Throws
Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard is a savvy veteran for many reasons.
His consistent ability to hit shots from anywhere on the court on top of his ability to put himself (and other players on the court) in certain positions reigns supreme in the NBA.
Yet in Friday night's win over the Phoenix Suns, it was his mental game that perhaps made the difference despite the 30+ point performance.
With just seconds left in overtime and the Suns needing two points to tie the game, Deandre Ayton stepped to the free throw line after being fouled on a shot attempt.
Lillard walked over, said something, and went about his way.
Ayton missed the first free throw, putting Phoenix in a position where they needed to intentionally miss the second attempt in hopes of rebounding and putting it in to extend the game to another overtime.
That nearly happened - Jock Landale grabbed the missed free throw attempt and put just too much on the shot before the buzzer sounded.
The Suns dropped to 1-1 on the year, and following the game, Lillard explained what he told Ayton before the crucial set of free throws:
"I only asked him, I said 'have you ever been in this situation before?' because it's not an easy situation to be in because the whole game doesn't come down to one possession, there's a lot of things that happen ... But I just asked him. I wanted him to think about it a little bit ... He ignored me, and when he ignored me I was like I'm pretty sure he's thinking about it."
Ayton's career free throw percentage sits at 75%, so it's not out of the realm of possibility to think he would have missed without Lillard saying something.
But in the heat of the moment, with the game on the line, just maybe was Ayton thrown off his game when it counted.
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