By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: 23:07 EST, 8 March 2025 | Updated: 23:07 EST, 8 March 2025
TORONTO (AP) - Jamal Shead flipped the ball high off the glass at the buzzer and ended up at the bottom of a celebratory scrum with his Toronto Raptors teammates.
What a game-winner - until it wasn't.
Shead appeared to hit a winning layup at the buzzer against the Washington Wizards, but he and the Raptors - along with their fans - ended up deflated when a video review showed he got the shot off 0.1 seconds too late.
"Those are tough moments," Shead said after the Raptors' 118-117 loss on Saturday night. "You make it, it's a great moment. Sometimes you don't get the shot off in time and move on."
The final sequence started after the officials missed Shead stepping on the sideline trying to inbound the ball with 2.3 seconds left - Washington's Khris Middleton tried to point it out - before calling timeout. The Raptors set up a new play and A.J. Lawson inbounded the ball to Shead, who immediately drove the ball down the right side of the lane.
Shead managed to arc the ball high off the glass and in over two Wizards, sending the fans out of their seats and the Raptors in a pile on top of Shead.
Toronto Raptors guard Jamal Shead (23) lays up the ball that can't beat the buzzer leading to a loss against the Washington Wizards during the second half of NBA action in Toronto on Saturday, March 8, 2025. (Thomas Skrlj/The Canadian Press via AP)
The Wizards started dejectedly walking off the court as the Raptors celebrated, but the officials determined Shead just missed getting the shot off in time, rapidly shifting the emotions on both sides of the court.
"Tonight, luck was on their side," Raptors coach coach Darko Rajakovic said.
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Toronto Raptors guard Jamal Shead (23) reacts to a potential game-winning point against the Washington Wizards with his teammates before it was ruled, no basket, during the second half of NBA action in Toronto on Saturday, March 8, 2025. (Thomas Skrlj/The Canadian Press via AP)
Washington Wizards guard Jordan Poole (13) reacts to Toronto Raptors guard, Jamal Shead's (not shown) potential game-winning point being overturned during the second half of NBA action in Toronto on Saturday, March 8, 2025. (Thomas Skrlj/The Canadian Press via AP)