Tristan Thompson was right there on Derrick Rose's game-winning 3-pointer on Friday at the United Center. The Cleveland Cavaliers big man switched onto the Chicago Bulls guard in the final moments, and Rose took a deep shot off the dribble going right and banked it in. Thompson almost blocked it, and said afterward that it was "lucky," via the Cleveland Plain Dealer's Chris Haynes:
"I contested," Thompson told Northeast Ohio Media Group late Friday night. "It wasn't like he just walked in and took a three. That's all you can really ask for. It was a lucky shot. He hit it off the glass. It's tough."
While the Bulls might not appreciate that particular choice of words, Thompson is correct. The Cavs played it pretty much perfectly, avoided fouling and forced Rose to take an incredibly difficult shot. The percentages were on Cleveland's side. Rose had just enough room to get it off, and he nailed it.
Thompson called it "tough" repeatedly, and that is understandable. He once again had a big game on an individual level, finishing with 10 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks in 41 minutes. It's can't feel great to have that work go to waste because of a contested shot like that at the buzzer.
