Horry Scale

Horry Scale: Ayo Dosunmu's putback off airball stuns Hawks

We put the Bulls' 22-year-old guard's game-winner against Atlanta to the test.

NBA.com Staff

Ayo Dosunmu saves the offensive board and puts up the last-second shot to beat the Hawks at the buzzer.

A reminder on The Horry Scale: It breaks down a game-winning buzzer-beater (GWBB) in the categories of difficulty, game situation (was the team tied or behind at the time?), importance (playoff game or garden-variety night in November?) and celebration. Then we give it an overall grade on a scale of 1-5 Robert Horrys, named for the patron saint of last-second answered prayers.

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We’ve seen this before. Game on the line. Ball in DeMar DeRozan’s hands. Actually, we saw it twice last season from DeRozan — and within a span of two days: New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.

So when DeRozan had the ball in his hands Wednesday night in Atlanta with just four seconds on the clock, we just knew what was going to happen once he turned around for a fadeaway jumper. Well … that’s why these things can’t be scripted.

DeRozan missed everything, but Ayo Dosunmu was in the perfect spot to secure the ball and flip it up just before the buzzer sounded.

GAME SITUATION: After seeing Chicago blow an 18-point lead and go back-and-forth with Atlanta in the fourth quarter, the Bulls rallied late to tie the game at 108-108 and had possession for the final four seconds.

Dosunmu inbounded a pass to DeRozan, who air-balled a fadeaway jumper from the baseline, but Dosunmu was in place to grab the rebound and score at the buzzer.

DIFFICULTY: We’ve come to expect DeRozan to nail these fadeaways with the game on the line. This time, he missed it — and missed everything, tossing up an airball that Dosunmu secured to flip it up off the backboard just before the final buzzer sounded. It was a matter of being in the right spot at the right time for Dosunmu.

CELEBRATION: To say Dosunmu got mobbed by his teammates would be an understatement. As Dosunmu fell to the floor at the end of the game, his teammates rushed over to cheer in his face and slap his chest in appreciation.

GRADE: It wasn’t the prettiest or most amazing game-winning buzzer-beater, but Dosunmu still made sure to be in the right spot with the game up for grabs, and had to sink the shot over the taller Bogdan Bogdanovic. 2 Horrys.

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