A Duke basketball sharpshooter drilled a game-winning buzzer beater.
It certainly wasn’t as impactful or eye-catching as Jalen Suggs’ buzzer beater against UCLA, but a former Duke basketball sharpshooter had a recent buzzer beater of his own.
Newly acquired Toronto Raptor Gary Trent Jr. has been making himself right at home in Florida (the Raptors’ temporary home) as the increased playing time for the former Blue Devil has seen him take over with his new team.
That came to its peak on Monday night as Trent Jr. drilled a game-winning 3-point buzzer beater against the Washington Wizards, which capped off his 16-point night.
https://twitter.com/NBAonTNT/status/1379244095105736704?s=20
The buzzer beater was just Trent Jr.’s second 3-pointer of the night. He finished 7-of-15 from the floor with two rebounds and two assists.
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Gary Trent Jr. couldn’t quite carry that momentum into Tuesday’s matchup against the shorthanded Los Angeles Lakers as he scored just 11 points on 4-of-15 shooting in a 110-101 loss.
Duke basketball product thriving with new team
Since being traded from the Portland Trail Blazers to the Toronto Raptors, Gary Trent Jr. has started in all seven games. And aside from his game-winning buzzer beater, his best performance came in a 31-point outburst against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Trent Jr. averaged 15.0 points per game in 41 outings with the Blazers and is posting 15.8 points per game with Toronto.
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However, the struggling Raptors are just 2-5 in games the former Blue Devil has played. Meanwhile, the Blazers are 5-2 since the trade, in which they also sent Rodney Hood to Toronto and acquired Norman Powell.
The NBA Champions from two years ago have lost 14 of their last 17 games.
Now, the Toronto Raptors (20-31) are in 11th place in the Eastern Conference, five games back of the No. 8 seed yet just two games back of the all-important No. 10 seed this season.
Toronto will host the Chicago Bulls on Thursday, April 8.