When one team leads by 30 points after the first quarter and goes on to win by 43 like the Boston Celtics did Wednesday night, there's obviously not any one play that fully explains what went wrong for the losing team.
But for the Brooklyn Nets, there was one play that perfectly summed up just how completely out of it they were from the opening tip on Wednesday.
It came late in the second quarter with the Celtics leading 73-45. Derrick White was inbounding the ball from the baseline near one corner and found Al Horford in the other corner for a wide-open three.
How did Horford get so open? Well, because Nets center Day'Ron Sharpe just straight-up wasn't paying attention. Sharpe was the closest defender to Horford, but instead of watching either Horford or White, Sharpe was staring straight ahead as if he was waiting for someone to drive into the lane.
Sharpe remained completely oblivious as White passed the ball right behind him and Horford took the shot. The ball was nearly already through the hoop before Sharpe finally realized that play had already started back up.
Obviously, that one play had little effect on the outcome. Maybe the Nets would've only lost by 40 instead of 43 if Sharpe had been paying attention. But it sure did sum up the night nicely.
Watch the play here:
Related
