Wolverines in the NBA: Jordan Poole hits ridiculous buzzer beater, becomes youngest player in Finals history to make five threes
Former Michigan Wolverines basketball guard Jordan Poole has been on big stages during his hoops career, but none with brighter lights than the 2022 NBA Finals. The Golden State Warriors guard had a slow start to the series, but exploded in the second half of Game 2, lifting his team to a victory that tied up the series at 1-1.
Poole was largely ineffective in Game 1. He scored just nine points, marking the first time he was in single figures since posting three points in Game 5 of the second-round series against the Memphis Grizzles May 11. The former Michigan guard shot 2-for-7 from the field and 1-for-5 from three-point range, while adding two rebounds and two assists with four turnovers.
He wasn’t the sole reason for the Warriors’ loss — they were outscored 40-16 in the fourth quarter, surely not one man’s doing — but the need for a third scorer behind Steph Curry and Klay Thompson was magnified in the 120-108 setback. Poole has answered that bell at times throughout the season and playoffs, but didn’t on that particular night.
RELATED
• Michigan basketball: ‘Camp Sanderson’ in full swing for five Wolverines
The pressure was on Golden State heading into Sunday’s Game 2, after the Boston Celtics stole the first game on the road in San Francisco. The squad was up for the challenge, aided by a spectacular final 16 minutes by the former Michigan standout.
Poole had just three points at halftime, having missed four of his five attempts from three-point land, before turning it up late in the game. He finished second on the team with 17 points on five made three-pointers, going 5-of-9 from deep, with three assists, two rebounds and two steals in 23 minutes of the 107-88 blowout win.
Poole became the youngest player in NBA Finals history to knock down five threes in a game, according to CBS Sports.
Known for the flashy play, Poole had the Chase Center crowd and social media abuzz at the end of the third quarter. His long, moon-ball three from near the half-court line beat the buzzer and capped off a 19-2 Warriors run to conclude the third stanza.
Of course, Poole hit the game-winning three at the buzzer to beat Houston and send Michigan to the Sweet 16 on its national title game run in 2018.
Poole was frequently getting his shot blocked in Game 1 and the beginning of Game 2, which included a benching late in the second quarter. He didn’t return until late in the third stanza.
“Extremely long. Extremely lengthy,” Poole said of the Boston defense. “They do have a lot of shot-blockers. They have a lot of guys that can meet at the rim. Just trying to figure out ways to play around that. Just keep watching film. That’s pretty much all there is to it, I guess.”
Boston led the NBA in defense rating in the regular season and is known for making life miserable for its opponent, as we saw in Game 1, but Poole began to figure out how to get his shots off during Golden State’s big run at the end of the second contest. It’s been a feeling out process, but Poole is getting more comfortable with the flow of the game.
“Looking for my shot more,” the former Michigan guard said of the difference between Game 1 and Game 2. “I think the first game, I was trying to get my teammates involved, trying to get them easy looks because they were crowding me and they had a lot of attention on me in the non-Steph minutes. But just being aggressive.
“We talked about it in shoot-around a couple days ago, somebody was going to hit a halfcourt shot in this series, whether it was me or Steph. I just happened to hit it.”
“Jordan is still a very young player, learning on the fly, but he’s had such a great season, and he’s so talented and confident that I have a lot of faith that he’ll figure this out,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said. “And I thought tonight he did a good job of finding his way.”
Former Michigan guard Nik Stauskas appears in both NBA Finals games
Joining Vanderbilt and Florida, Michigan is one of three schools to have multiple players in the NBA Finals. Former U-M guard Nik Stauskas is a reserve for the Celtics but has appeared in both games to this point.
Stauskas has totaled five minutes, four of which game during garbage time in Game 2. He hit a three-pointer and added three rebounds and one assist.
