Bogut hits game winner
Wednesday, December 21, 2005 - 05:57 PM
Andrew Bogut - No. 1 FanAustralian basketball star Andrew Bogut has continued his stellar rookie season in the world’s toughest basketball league, the US-based NBA, by hitting the game winning shot for his Milwaukee Bucks team against the reigning champion San Antonio Spurs.
Bogut, who is the number one ticket holder of the Philips Championship, banked in a tough jumper over defence as the buzzer expired to seal an upset 109-107 overtime victory for the Bucks.
With 0.7 seconds left, Bucks teammate Toni Kukoc threw a lob inbounds pass to Bogut, who caught and shot in one motion. His successful eight-foot fadeaway jumper brought a massive roar from the home crowd at the Bradley Center and stunned the Spurs, who lost consecutive games for the first time this season.
Bogut had 19 points and nine rebounds for the Bucks as he continued to impress in his first year in the big league. Spurs superstar Tim Duncan, who also matched up on Bogut at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, scored 34 points and grabbed 13 rebounds but fouled out with 22 seconds left in overtime.
"I've never had a buzzer-beating game-winner, but to do it in the NBA against the world champions is a great feeling," Bogut said. "The guy I've always looked up to is Tim Duncan. So, to do this against his team is a great feeling for me."
"It's not one of those plays you can really practice," Bogut added. "It just worked out."
Spurs coach Gregg Popovic was impressed with the Australian’s performance.
"Andrew Bogut hurt us more than anybody did," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "He consistently went to the offensive boards and converted. He made a good physical play at the end and won the game for them."
Duncan agreed that Bogut was the star of the game.
"He did a great job on the offensive glass, made some big baskets for them and showed some great touch right around the basket," Duncan said.
Bucks coach Terry Stotts said the winning play from Bogut was just what the team needed.
"It was just what we wanted to get," Stotts said. "Andrew obviously made a great catch-and-shoot, which was what we were looking to do. Toni had to throw it far enough, but not too short, over a 7-footer and it was a good combination. They both had to execute it well.â€
"They have a lot of good perimeter defenders and you don't know what kind of look you're going to get (on an outside shot). The worst case was we were going to go to double overtime."
Milwaukee won at the buzzer for the fourth time this season, and Bogut - the top overall pick in June's draft - has been the hero twice. On November 29, he blocked Jason Terry's potential game-tying layup at the horn to preserve an overtime win over Dallas.
Wednesday, December 21, 2005 - 05:57 PM
Andrew Bogut - No. 1 FanAustralian basketball star Andrew Bogut has continued his stellar rookie season in the world’s toughest basketball league, the US-based NBA, by hitting the game winning shot for his Milwaukee Bucks team against the reigning champion San Antonio Spurs.
Bogut, who is the number one ticket holder of the Philips Championship, banked in a tough jumper over defence as the buzzer expired to seal an upset 109-107 overtime victory for the Bucks.
With 0.7 seconds left, Bucks teammate Toni Kukoc threw a lob inbounds pass to Bogut, who caught and shot in one motion. His successful eight-foot fadeaway jumper brought a massive roar from the home crowd at the Bradley Center and stunned the Spurs, who lost consecutive games for the first time this season.
Bogut had 19 points and nine rebounds for the Bucks as he continued to impress in his first year in the big league. Spurs superstar Tim Duncan, who also matched up on Bogut at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, scored 34 points and grabbed 13 rebounds but fouled out with 22 seconds left in overtime.
"I've never had a buzzer-beating game-winner, but to do it in the NBA against the world champions is a great feeling," Bogut said. "The guy I've always looked up to is Tim Duncan. So, to do this against his team is a great feeling for me."
"It's not one of those plays you can really practice," Bogut added. "It just worked out."
Spurs coach Gregg Popovic was impressed with the Australian’s performance.
"Andrew Bogut hurt us more than anybody did," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "He consistently went to the offensive boards and converted. He made a good physical play at the end and won the game for them."
Duncan agreed that Bogut was the star of the game.
"He did a great job on the offensive glass, made some big baskets for them and showed some great touch right around the basket," Duncan said.
Bucks coach Terry Stotts said the winning play from Bogut was just what the team needed.
"It was just what we wanted to get," Stotts said. "Andrew obviously made a great catch-and-shoot, which was what we were looking to do. Toni had to throw it far enough, but not too short, over a 7-footer and it was a good combination. They both had to execute it well.â€
"They have a lot of good perimeter defenders and you don't know what kind of look you're going to get (on an outside shot). The worst case was we were going to go to double overtime."
Milwaukee won at the buzzer for the fourth time this season, and Bogut - the top overall pick in June's draft - has been the hero twice. On November 29, he blocked Jason Terry's potential game-tying layup at the horn to preserve an overtime win over Dallas.
