A busy night in the NBA featured a hectic ending in the Eastern Conference with the unlikeliest of heroes. In a game that was tight for all 48 minutes of action, the Cleveland Cavaliers took down the Atlanta Hawks, 112-111, powered by a 29-point outing in 34 minutes of work by standout guard Collin Sexton.
However, Sexton didn’t hit the bucket that won the game, as he instead set up undrafted rookie Lamar Stevens for the brightest moment of his young NBA career. Following a missed runner by Young that was hauled in by the former Penn State standout, Sexton pushed the ball up the floor, and instead of calling a timeout and letting the Hawks set up their defense, Cleveland played things out.
This turned out to be quite the decision. Atlanta’s defense tried to double Sexton, who tossed the ball to Stevens on the wing. He blew past Young, Jarrett Allen sealed off Kevin Heurter, Danilo Gallinari made a business decision, and Stevens got to play the hero.
LAMAR STEVENS THROWS IT DOWN TO WIN IT FOR THE @cavs!
— NBA (@NBA) February 24, 2021
Stevens has worked his way into Cleveland’s rotation with his defensive versatility, and has showed the ability to use his athleticism to play above the rim on offense several times. He did a little bit of everything on Tuesday night — eight points on 4-for-5 shooting, four rebounds, two assists, and two steals in 16 minutes of work off the bench — and to top it all off, he managed to give his team a hard-fought win.