Admit it: Both times the ball was in the air, you thought it was going in.
Kevin Durant and Steph Curry each fired away from beyond the arc with a chance to tie Monday night's Game 4 contest in the second round of the NBA playoffs between the Warriors and Rockets as the clock ticked away. But each attempt rattled out, and the Warriors lost 112-108.
This isn't the first time these two stars have let it fly with the game on the line in the playoffs and time winding down. In this case, it hasn't been too easy for the former NBA MVPs.
Steph Curry is just 2-for-9 from the field in his playoffs career attempting game-tying or go-ahead shots with 10 seconds or less. He's also 1-for-5 from 3-point range in these situations.
Kevin Durant has been even worse in this specific case. He's gone 2-for-13 from the field in these situations and has missed all seven of his 3-point attempts.
On game-tying or go-ahead shots in their playoff careers:
Durant: 2-13 FG, 0-7 3PT
Curry: 2-9 FG, 1-5 3PT
That is a wild stat.
Per @notthefakeSVP pic.twitter.com/W1pibkl9PH— Sporting News (@sportingnews) May 7, 2019
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Let's put this stat into context, though. First of all, a shot like that with the game on the line in the playoffs and only 10 seconds or less is incredibly difficult. This postseason alone, players are 4-for-18 in such cases.
And three of the makes have come from Trail Blazers stars Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum.
James Harden has found himself in trouble with these kind of shots as well. He's only made one of nine shots in this scenario and missed his only attempt this year, which came in the Warriors' 104-100 win in Game 1 of the series.
Rockets point guard Chris Paul has hit two of his four attempts, but hasn't made one since 2015.
[RELATED: Steph Curry remembers 3-pointer in playoff rally vs. Pelicans]
Caught in these tough stats for Curry and Durant is a bigger reality. Both players have been ridiculously clutch for the Warriors while winning three NBA Finals in the last four seasons.
As the series heads to Game 5 all tied up on Wednesday night, the Warriors will have no issues putting the ball in Curry or Durant's hands with the game on the line. Guaranteed.
