This old saying was applicable to the heartbreaking 96-94 loss to the Hornets on Friday night. In an eerily similar finish to the December 9 contest at the Target Center, New Orleans executed a final play at the buzzer to defeat the Wolves for the third time this season.
“Definitely a tough loss. Losing to them twice, on the exact same play. We have been playing well, but it definitely hurts to lose this way,” Jonny Flynn said.
From Jim Beilby/NBA.com:
“We knew we had run that (play) last time,” New Orleans coach, Jeff Bower said. “But we liked the alignment and thought it was time to go back to it.”
This time, with David West in the locker room with a sprained ankle, it was Chris Paul and James Posey. With 3.5 seconds and the score tied, Posey faked a hand-off to Paul, and found himself with a clear path to the rim. His lay-up was contested by Al Jefferson and reviewed by the officials, but the end result was the same as December 9th.
“It was pretty ironic, we were in the same situation last time,” Chris Paul said. “Me and ‘Pos’ talked about it before we went out there. He said, ‘If they jump [the handoff], I’m going to keep [the ball].’ They did, he faked it, and boom, game over.”
Minnesota put up 54 points in the paint to New Orleans’ 34, outrebounded the Hornets 50-41 and shut down Peja Stojakovic, who went 1-for-8.
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