Winning Game 7 in the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Raptors
That shot should have gone down, even Vince Carter knew that.
"“When we got into the huddle getting ready for that last shot before [head coach Lenny Wilkens] even drew up a play, I said, ‘Coach, I want the ball… Pump fake, swing through, and by halfway it looked good and it ended up hitting the back rim.”"
While the out of bounds play wasn’t the best (as we all know, long 2-pointers are one of the least efficient shots in basketball), Vince Carter was able to pump-fake Tyrone Hill out of his shoes for the open jumper. It’s a play that he’s made a thousand times before and a play he’d make a thousand times again.
This series was as even as it got, with the Philadelphia 76ers eeking this one 4-3, as Carter’s miss was the ultimate decider. After the Toronto Raptors upset the Sixers in Philadelphia in game one, the stars came out with Allen Iverson scoring 54 points in Game 2 to even the series, and Carter with 50 in the game after. Philly won Game 4, clamping down on VC, making him shoot 8/27, but the scoring came back in Games 5 and 6, where AI scored 52 in the former and VC had 39 in the latter, both of them leading their teams to wins.
With the series tied at 3 games apiece, the seventh game came under the microscope. Unfortunately for Carter, this couldn’t have come at a worse time for his personal life. On the morning before the game, Carter took a private plane down to North Carolina to receive his diploma from the university and flew back before the game. Was it an act to celebrate the importance of education or did Carter let his team down by letting something other than a series-clinching game take his focus? Discussion ensued on both sides before the critical game.
While Carter didn’t perform well during the game, Toronto was still in it until the end setting up his shot. Things came full-circle for Vince Carter in game three of the first round of the playoffs in 2014. Check it out for yourself:
We 76ers fans are ecstatic that he missed in the Eastern Conference semis, but I wouldn’t blame anyone if things suddenly got a little dusty after watching that video.
Next: Winning the 2001 ECF