Hawks’ AJ Griffin hits game-winning shot over Raptors in incredible fashion

AJ Griffin produced 17 points and had the game-winning layup in overtime on Saturday to lift the Atlanta Hawks to a win over the Toronto Raptors as time expired.

The play unfolded with 3.8 seconds left in extra time after OG Anunoby hit two free throws to tie the game up at 122 points apiece. With no timeouts left, De’Andre Hunter inbounded the ball to Dejounte Murray, who found a streaking Trae Young up the court.

Young maneuvered past four Hawks players by halfcourt and found himself with only one defender to beat. With Griffin seemingly on an island, Young floated the ball up to him and the 16th pick tossed the ball in off the glass to beat the horn and pull out the 124-122 win.

Young scored a game-high 33 points and 12 assists to lead the Hawks while Hunter added 22 points. Griffin shot 8-of-15 from the field and also added five rebounds, one assist and one block in 30 minutes to lead the Hawks’ bench unit.

Griffin had eight points alone in the overtime period.

“Throughout the whole game, I thought he came in and gave us a lift,” Hawks head coach Nate McMillan said. “He was able to knock down some shots and make some timely baskets, I thought, throughout the game. The ball found him in the second half and in that overtime and he was able to finish. He plays with a lot of poise, doesn’t panic out there and made some big shots for us tonight.”

The eventual game-winning play is one the Hawks practice for late-game situations with little to no time left on the clock. The group on the floor executed it perfectly and it led to an exhilarating finish as the team improved to 10-6 on the season.

“I had a feeling they were going to press up,” Griffin told Lauren Jbara of Bally Sports South after the game. “God puts you in the right spots sometimes just to be able to make those plays. Trae, my point guard, just to be able to see me (was all we needed).”

The performance was just the third time Griffin scored in double figures this season. His 17 points were his second-highest in a game, trailing only his career-high 24 points on Nov. 7. It was only the third time Griffin logged more than 20 minutes in a game.

The shot came right in front of his father, Adrian, who is an assistant coach with the Raptors. AJ and the Hawks are now 1-1 against his father and the Raptors this season with the third and final game set to take place on Jan. 14 in Toronto.

Said AJ: “I’m coming for that second one!”