Kevon Looney will remember this first match of the year 2023 for a long time. Between exhaustion and euphoria, the Warriors let their joy explode on the savior of the evening once victory was assured thanks to his double tap to seal the fate of an interminable match. between Golden State and Atlanta.
At the end of two extensions, the pivot found the resources to achieve a first tap then a second at the buzzer in order to deliver his team and allow him to garner a fifth consecutive victory. Without that, the two teams would have headed for a third overtime!
Deliverance in two stages
Not really used to this kind of situation, Kevoon Looney confided after the meeting that it was a first for him in his career.
“After Trae Young’s floater, I knew we had no more time-outs so I just wanted to get close to the circle. I didn’t know who was going to shoot, I forced my first attempt a bit, because I didn’t think I had enough time, and finally I took my time on the second one so I could put it on,” did he declare. “I didn’t look at the clock. After rushing on the first one, I realized that nobody had reacted, so I knew that I still had time to go up”.
That night again, position 5 had not spared its efforts, finishing the game with 14 points, 20 rebounds and 4 assists.
“He was fantastic”, underlined his coach, Steve Kerr. “Atlanta has quite a few big guys who can catch lob passes, and they kinda got the upper hand in the third quarter between Collins and Okongwu. We hesitated a little between Looney and Anthony Lamb to know if we wanted to stretch the game more or more size. The two had a great match, and to see Loon’ being rewarded with that basket at the buzzer, it was fantastic”.
His basket was celebrated at its fair value, by the fans but also by his teammates who did not fail to heckle him well!
“My teammates were just happy for me. They know how much I give of myself. Everyone dreams of having a “game winner”, so when you have the opportunity to do it and celebrate it with your team, it’s a great moment. Especially after two extra times, everyone was exhausted.
| Kevon Looney | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2015-16 | GOS | 5 | 4 | 57.1 | 50.0 | 0.0 | 0.8 | 1.2 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 1.8 |
| 2016-17 | GOS | 53 | 8 | 52.3 | 22.2 | 61.8 | 0.8 | 1.5 | 2.3 | 0.6 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 2.6 |
| 2017-18 | GOS | 66 | 14 | 58.0 | 20.0 | 54.5 | 1.3 | 2.0 | 3.3 | 0.6 | 1.6 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.9 | 4.1 |
| 2018-19 | GOS | 80 | 19 | 62.5 | 10.0 | 61.9 | 2.4 | 2.8 | 5.2 | 1.5 | 2.6 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 6.3 |
| 2019-20 | GOS | 20 | 13 | 36.7 | 7.1 | 75.0 | 1.4 | 1.9 | 3.3 | 1.0 | 1.7 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 3.4 |
| 2020-21 | GOS | 61 | 19 | 54.8 | 23.5 | 64.6 | 1.9 | 3.4 | 5.3 | 2.0 | 2.2 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 4.1 |
| 2021-22 | GOS | 82 | 21 | 57.1 | 0.0 | 60.0 | 2.5 | 4.7 | 7.3 | 2.0 | 2.6 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 6.0 |
| 2022-23 | GOS | 37 | 23 | 62.7 | 0.0 | 61.7 | 2.7 | 5.2 | 7.9 | 2.9 | 2.8 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 6.5 |
| Total | 404 | 17 | 57.4 | 17.2 | 60.7 | 1.9 | 3.1 | 5.1 | 1.5 | 2.2 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 4.9 | |
