Electric NBA Endings from November 10th -

By Sam Bergstrom

For fans of the National Basketball Association (NBA), November 10 proved to be the most exciting day of the year since the season tipped off on October 21. In total, there were nine thrilling games that featured high-scoring performances, clutch back-and-forth play, and highlight reel clips. Here are the four most ridiculous finishes that took place on this crazy Monday night.

Image courtesy of The Oregonian.

Orlando Magic vs. Portland Trail Blazers

During the final 12 seconds of this matchup, Portland’s Jerami Grant and Orlando’s Paolo Banchero both traded exceptional and-one buckets—Grant converting an out-of-bounds alley-oop and Banchero hitting a smothered driving layup over two defenders. With the score nodded at 112-112, Banchero missed a crucial free throw to put Orlando up. Paolo would redeem himself on the next play, ripping the ball away from Portland’s Jrue Holiday and reactively calling timeout to give Orlando a shot to win the game.

With 1.9 seconds remaining, Desmond Bane received an off-ball screen, caught the inbound pass, took one dribble to his right, and hoisted a fadeaway three pointer from the Kia Center logo with a defender draped on top of him. In a truly magical fashion, the ball hit nothing but net as the buzzer sounded. The Orlando faithful erupted at the sound of the splash that granted them a remarkable 115-112 victory. Funnily enough, this was Bane’s only three-pointer of the night, but it was the only one that mattered in the end.

Image courtesy of Through the Phog.

Miami Heat vs. Cleveland Cavaliers

If you thought Orlando and Portland had a chaotic ending, just wait until you hear about this one. In overtime, Cleveland found themselves down 138-135 with 6.5 seconds remaining. With no timeouts, the Cavs needed to cash in a three-pointer to keep their hopes alive. Off the inbound pass, Cavs sharpshooter Sam Merril failed to convert on a fadeaway corner three. Somehow, the rebound found its way to Donovan Mitchell, who hurried to the other corner and heaved up a quick-trigger, out-of-control, rainbow three over the lengthy arm of Miami’s Kel’el Ware. As Mitchell fell to the floor, the ball shockingly fell through the hoop, tying the game at 138-138.

With 0.4 seconds left, Miami needed to execute a perfect out-of-bounds play—the player receiving the ball would need to get it off his hands in the nick of time. They did just that, with Nikola Jović floating a perfect lob pass to Andrew Wiggins, who lost his defenders on his way to a wide open alley-oop dunk to beat the horn. In a photo finish, Wiggins sent the South Beach crowd into a frenzy, and was mauled by his teammates under the hoop after their 140-138 overtime win. With Bane and Wiggins’s heroics, this marks the fourth time this decade there has been two game-winning buzzer beaters in the same day. The state of Florida sure got to witness an entertaining brand of hoops on November 10.

Image courtesy of Arab News.

Detroit Pistons vs. Washington Wizards

While trailing 126-121 with 12.6 seconds left in the fourth quarter, it seemed unfathomable that Detroit could avenge a fruitful comeback against Washington. After hauling two fortunate offensive rebounds, Detroit’s Dannis Jenkins sank a wide-open three-pointer to cut Washington’s lead to 2 with 3.0 seconds remaining. On the other end, the Wizards missed a critical free throw, leaving the door wide open for Detroit to tie the game.

Down 127-124 with 1.9 seconds remaining, Cade Cunningham looked to inbound to Duncan Robinson, but Washington’s off-ball defense prevented him from coming off a screen. So, Cunningham resorted to Jenkins, who was stationary in the right corner. Jenkins quickly hoisted up a trey over his defender and heroically drilled the game-tying shot at the buzzer to send it to OT. After an emphatic Javonte Green dunk and playing the free throw game, the Pistons were able to hang on for a 137-135 overtime win. Cunningham delivered a helpful 46-point-performance, but Dannis Jenkins—who scored 24 of his own—proved to be the X-factor in Detroit’s improbable win. Jenkins went undrafted in 2024 after attending four different colleges, and is currently playing on a two-way contract. This was the 13th NBA game of his career.

Image Courtesy of nba.com.

Bulls vs. Spurs

If I told you a player hit a between-the-legs, cross-over, go-ahead three-pointer in crunch time from the top of the key, you would probably expect said player to be a shifty and sharpshooting guard or forward. Surely this kind of player isn’t above seven feet tall, right? Wrong. My friends, let me introduce you to Victor Wembanyama, a 7’4” basketball anomaly. With the Spurs and Bulls nodded at 114-114, Wembanyama calmly took command of the Spurs offense, rejecting a screen, and prompting an iso against Bulls center Nikola Vučević. He then made an Allen Iverson-esque crossover that put Vučević on skates, and casually sank a three over his head. Vucevic is 6’10”, but Wemby made him look about 6′ 4” shooting over him.

What we are seeing from Victor Wembanyama this season is simply unprecedented, and his clutch basket against Chicago perfectly captures his generational and alien playstyle. In San Antonio’s 121-117 win, Wemby recorded an astounding 38 points, 12 rebounds, and 5 blocked shots, making his case as a future MVP and—probably multiple time—defensive player of the year.