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Monday’s Hot Clicks: The 10 Best Photos of Kawhi Leonard’s Insane Buzzer Beater

Kawhi Leonard’s stunning shot produced some stunning photography. 

Dan Gartland

Monday’s Hot Clicks: The 10 Best Photos of Kawhi Leonard’s Insane Buzzer Beater
Monday’s Hot Clicks: The 10 Best Photos of Kawhi Leonard’s Insane Buzzer Beater /

Kawhi really did that

Not to be outdone by Damian Lillard’s shot last round, Kawhi Leonard sent the Raptors through to the Eastern Conference finals with the first ever buzzer-beater in an NBA Game 7.

The shot could not have been more dramatic. Leonard was smothered on the play by Ben Simmons and then Joel Embiid, and dribbled all the way around the three-point arc to try to get some space before finally throwing up an off-balance prayer that only fell after bouncing four times on the rim.

It was a stunning shot that produced some stunning photography. Here are the 10 best shots of the shot and its aftermath. 

This is the most viral photo of the shot. You have the concentration on Kawhi’s face, Joel Embiid’s disbelief and Jordan Loyd doing the classic bench guy crouch.

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Rich Madonik/Toronto Star via Getty Images

This shot from above captures the moment the ball finally dropped through the rim.

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Mark Blinch/NBA/Getty Images

The video of the shot makes it seem like Kawhi was out of control, but you can see here that he was actually squared up to the hoop when he released the ball.

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David Dow/NBA/Getty Images

Like Paul George before him, Joel Embiid could not have defended this play any better. 

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Ron Turenne/NBA/Getty Images
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Mark Blinch/NBA/Getty Images
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David Dow/NBA/Getty Images

It was awesome to see the emotion flow out of the usually stoic Kawhi in the ensuing celebration. 

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Rich Madonik/Toronto Star via Getty Images
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Mark Blinch/NBA/Getty Images
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Steve Russell/Toronto Star via Getty Images

I hope the first thing Kawhi buys after he signs his max deal this summer is a 20-foot print of this one.

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Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBA/Getty Images

CJ McCollum took over Game 7

This is what makes the Blazers so dangerous. Even when Damian Lillard struggles (13 points on 3-of-17 shooting), Portland has another star guard capable of dominating. CJ McCollum had 37 points in the Blazers’ Game 7 win over the Nuggets, including some real clutch shots in the closing moments. 

Oh yeah, and he had this crazy block. 

You have to have some nerve to attack a guy who’s 7'3"

Some pretty crazy footage emerged yesterday of Kristaps Porzingis following an altercation at a nightclub in his hometown in Latvia this weekend. His shirt is all ripped up and he’s bleeding from the head. 

According to ESPN, the Mavs believe Porzingis was jumped by a group of Russians. TMZ adds that the Russians were upset that Porzingis asked to be traded from the Knicks. 

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Well played

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A good song

Email dan.gartland@simail.com with any feedback or follow me on Twitter for approximately one half-decent baseball joke per week. Bookmark this page to see previous editions of Hot Clicks and find the newest edition every day. By popular request I’ve made a Spotify playlist of the music featured here. Visit our Extra Mustard page throughout each day for more offbeat sports stories.

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Dan Gartland
DAN GARTLAND

Dan Gartland is the writer and editor of Sports Illustrated’s flagship daily newsletter, SI:AM, covering everything an educated sports fan needs to know. He joined the SI staff in 2014, having previously been published on Deadspin and Slate. Gartland, a graduate of Fordham University, is a former Sports Jeopardy! champion (Season 1, Episode 5).

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