Bruce offers insight into clutch moment against Hawks

Hitting a walk-off three to win the game is a lifelong goal for every basketball player. Whether you’re a weekend warrior battling it out in the junior ranks or a seasoned veteran at the very top level, it’s the thing dreams are made of.

Shaun Bruce achieved that goal in Sydney’s heart-stopping win over local rivals Illawarra on the weekend. With the Kings down by four with just 13 seconds to go Bruce hit a lay-up before nailing a corner three at the buzzer to break Hawks' hearts.

With a five of Bruce, DJ Vasiljevic, Angus Glover, Kouat Noi and Tim Soares on the floor for the sealer Chase Buford ran with a flexible line-up filled with his best shooters for the final play of the game. The tactic paid off.

“’Glove’ (Glover) made an awesome play,” Bruce told The Huddle. “I was like ‘if I’ve got separation I’m going to be open, that’s an option for you’ and I think that was on the front of his mind.

“That play’s got a lot of different options to it … Kouat set a good screen as well.

“Maybe some of the coaches at the Hawks were screaming out about something else that could have happened and players were worried about that a little bit. It just opened up what happened in the corner and the rest is history from there.”

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Arguably more memorable than Bruce’s shot itself though was the celebration.

Before he was swamped by his ecstatic teammates, Bruce held his hands up to his head to say ‘goodnight’ to the Hawks fans. It's a motion that’s sure to add some spice to the next time the two sides meet.

However, the shot had to be replayed over and over to confirm it was a game-winning three-pointer as opposed to a two-to-tie the contest, leaving Bruce with a nervous wait.

“I was just sitting there thinking ‘this better not be a two and I’ve just done that stupid celebration’,” Bruce said.

“[It was] really lucky in the end we didn’t have to keep playing after that – I probably would have been pretty nervous to play another five minutes after doing something like that.

“I act like a bit of a goose at training all the time doing that stuff (the celebration) after a scrimmage win or we win a shooting drill, it’s either that or I’m trying to hit the griddy at training.

“I guess it was in my subconscious a little bit from doing it at practice so it just came out in the moment.”

After expertly calling the game as part of the commentary team, host of The Huddle Liam Santamaria got the inside info on the replay process and decision to award the three as soon as the game was over.

I ducked into the replay centre after we got off the broadcast and I was like ‘let me see all the angles you had’,” Santamaria told Bruce.

“It was interesting hearing (Head of Referees) Scott Butler talk through it. He was saying Chris Read on the floor has the best view of anyone of the planet of [Bruce’s] feet, and he signalled that it’s a three.

“They had no angle that showed it definitively. They had one from behind, they had one from the baseline camera that was up and cut off the feet, so of all the angles they looked at they couldn’t say definitively one way or the other.

“So, it reverts to the call on the floor which was Chris Read with both hands up and it’s a walk-off game-winner as a result.”