Blake Griffin’s 2015 Alley-Oop 3 Echoes in Spurs’ 133–95 Win
blake griffin’s alley-oop three from Nov. 24, 2015 had company Wednesday night. Devin Vassell converted a rare version of the same shot in the second quarter, and the Spurs turned it into a 133–95 win over the Timberwolves that tied the second-round series.
Spurs’ 133–95 surge
San Antonio spread the scoring around and never let Minnesota settle in. All five starters reached double figures, with Stephon Castle leading the way with 21 points and Vassell finishing with 10.
The score line was already lopsided by the time the oddest basket of the night dropped. That shot came with the clock against the Spurs, not in a half-court set built for a clean look.
Vassell’s corner release
The play started with Julian Champagnie taking the ball from Victor Wembanyama as the shot clock wound down. Champagnie lost it on the way up, recovered the ball, and kicked it to Vassell in the corner.
Vassell began his shooting motion before the pass arrived because there was no time for a normal jumper. Champagnie found him perfectly before the buzzer, and the shot went down as one of the rare alley-oop threes the league has seen.
Griffin and White precedents
The shot was unusual, but it was not without precedent. Derrick White hit an alley-oop three-pointer against the Pistons in a regular-season game last year, and Griffin hit one on Nov. 24, 2015 with the shot clock winding down.
That leaves Vassell’s basket in a narrow class of makes: a corner three, under clock pressure, finished off a broken possession and folded into a blowout that now leaves the series level.
