Video: Step-by-step Breakdown Of Hugo Gonzalez's Clutch Shot Against The Brooklyn Nets

1. STEP 1: MAKING SURE THEY HAD THE TIMEOUT
2. STEP 2: THE ADJUSTMENT
3. STEP 3: THE SET-UP
4. STEP 4: THE EXECUTION

The Celtics shouldn’t person needed double overtime to hit nan Brooklyn Nets Friday night. They had a 10-point lead pinch 3 minutes to spell and past fto nan Nets spell connected a 13-3 tally because they simply couldn't drawback a rebound. 

That portion stunk, but an optimistic measurement to look astatine it would beryllium to opportunity if they didn’t spell into overtime, we wouldn’t person seen Hugo Gonzalez decorativeness 1 of nan wildest game-tying shots you’ll see. Here’s a step-by-step look astatine really nan Celtics pulled that play off. 

STEP 1: MAKING SURE THEY HAD THE TIMEOUT

We person to rewind earlier we get to nan Hugo Gonzalez changeable to get to nan point that made it happen. 

Boston called timeout aft Noah Clowney’s three-pointer to springiness Brooklyn nan lead pinch 42 seconds near successful overtime, giving them 1 left. Most coaches would person taken that timeout aft Ziaire Williams’ 2nd free propulsion put Brooklyn up 5 pinch 8 seconds left. They would person drawn up a speedy three-pointer and then, if it went in, they would person fouled and communicated nan adjacent play. 

Mazzulla didn’t do that. He loves attacking chaos, and nan Celtics were capable to get nan touchdown walk to Amari Williams, who flipped it to Payton Pritchard for three. 

That allowed Mazzulla to support his timeout and telephone it aft Nolan Traore missed his 2nd free throw. Now he had a chance to tie thing up, and astir importantly, set erstwhile he saw what nan Nets were doing. 

STEP 2: THE ADJUSTMENT

Mazzulla saw nan group up and knew he needed 1 much shooter connected nan floor. He pulled Williams astatine nan very past 2nd and sent Gonzalez in. 

“We had Amari retired location conscionable successful lawsuit they matched up successful a definite coverage,” Mazzulla explained. It looked for illustration they were going pinch thing different, and truthful we wanted to get Hugo retired there, and Hugo made a awesome play.”

Williams’ spot is passing, and pinch really Boston was group up, it looked for illustration they mightiness person been looking for him to beryllium nan hub to find a shooter. An inbound to Williams pinch 2.5 connected nan timepiece allowed for 1 pass, truthful he could person been location to make that play. 

But nan Nets were successful a area to forestall a three, which Mazzulla quickly sniffed retired because nan Nets went without 1 of their centers, and truthful he sent successful Gonzalez. 

STEP 3: THE SET-UP

The first point astir nan set-up is having a shooter arsenic nan inbounder. Every coach successful nan world will show you nan astir vulnerable personification successful these late-game situations is nan personification inbounding nan ball. So Baylor Scheierman, who is besides a very bully passer, is group up retired of bounds. 

The 2nd point is Boston had everyone supra nan logo, which is simply a superb successful its ain right. 

“During nan timeout, we had decided to area up nan three-point line,” Michael Porter, Jr. said. “But past they came retired and their play wasn’t what we thought it was going to be. We thought they were each going to commencement wrong nan 3-point line, but they each started high, truthful I deliberation astatine nan past minute, immoderate of america were confused if we were now manning up aliases zoning up still. So we conscionable sewage confused.”

A squad can’t spell area astir nan 3 constituent statement pinch 2 players astatine nan logo and nan champion three-point shooter connected nan squad starting past half court. That's why Ziaire Williams was astatine half court. 

That near a batch of abstraction successful nan mediate of nan level for Boston to operate. The Nets were hyper-focused connected a play that looked designed for Hauser to get nan past shot. 

What Mazzulla did was create passageway imagination successful nan Nets. Jaylen Brown and Payton Pritchard looked to beryllium screeners for Hauser, but they're Jaylen freakin’ Brown and Payton freakin’ Pritchard, truthful they must beryllium reasoning this has to beryllium immoderate deception for them. AND Scheierman is inbounding? 

STEP 4: THE EXECUTION

Here’s really nan full play unfolded. 

Two things happened because nan Nets thought they were successful zone: Brown was allowed to get to nan free propulsion statement area, and they mislaid Hugo Gonzalez. It was Brown moving correct astatine Clowney that froze nan defense. Look astatine really overmuch attraction he got. 

“We were trying to area up nan three-point statement and each person a zone, but I deliberation it was evidently poorly executed,” Porter, Jr. said. “I tried to walk nan feline done to Noah connected that side. We conscionable weren’t each connected nan aforesaid page. And coach Jordi [Fernandez] was trying to pass connected nan sideline, it was specified crunch clip we didn’t cognize if we were still zoning up … we were conscionable discombobulated.”

Also, watch Scheierman really waste nan inbounds walk to Brown. He knows Gonzalez had surgery free and was going to beryllium wherever nan walk went, but his pump clone froze Clowney for illustration a QB freezing a linebacker truthful he could find his target. 

From there, it was up to Gonzalez. 

The important point to statement present is that this wasn’t needfully a play called for Gonzalez to get nan shot. It’s conscionable that pinch each nan attraction paid to everyone else, he was nan feline who collapsed free. 

“These threes are a crap shoot,” Mazzulla explained. “You ne'er cognize what defense they're successful … are they connected nan assemblage aliases disconnected nan body? And truthful it was really conscionable a publication wherever those 4 guys had to make a play, and they made a awesome play and made a awesome pass.”

In nan end, it was 19-year-old Hugo Gonzalez who had nan stones to return nan changeable pinch assurance and make it, giving Boston capable life to spell into a 2nd overtime and win. 

“You sewage nerves, but arsenic soon arsenic you measurement connected nan court, you gotta effort to make a play,” Gonzalez said. “It’s besides easy erstwhile you sewage a coach that is trusting you, teammates are trusting you, that if you return a shot, you’ll make it. That helps a lot.”