'Coburn theater goal' upsets Marey-less LG in pro basketball

'Coburn theater goal' upsets Marey-less LG in pro basketball

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Kofi Coburn's dramatic game-winning basket in the final seconds of regulation gave Seoul Samsung a thrilling come-from-behind victory over Changwon LG.

Samsung defeated LG 80-79 on Sunday at Jamsil Indoor Gymnasium in Seoul, South Korea, in a home game of the 2024-2025 KCC regular season.

With their second win of the season (6-6), Samsung moved up one spot to push Wonju DB (1-6) to the bottom of the standings. LG, on the other hand, which was missing key player Asem Marey, dropped below the 5 percent win rate with three wins and four losses.

Without Marei, who injured his elbow while battling with Shaun Long against Hyundai Mobis on March 3, LG relied heavily on the defense of Coburn, who boasts one of the biggest bodies in professional basketball.

Coach Cho Sang-hyun tried to deflate Coburn's power by putting multiple big men on him at the same time, including Daryl Monroe.

Coburn had 13 points and eight rebounds in the first half, but his shooting percentage dropped to 44 percent. With Coburn somewhat contained, LG led 43-39 at halftime, including a 24-17 run in the third quarter.

LG confused Samsung's defense by putting shooters Jeon Sung-hyun and Yoo Gi-sang on the court at the same time, and also improved its defense by playing Choi Jin-soo and Jung In-duk, who can defend multiple positions.

After committing five third-quarter miscues and losing momentum, Samsung cut the deficit back to single digits with eight minutes left in the game on a basket by Coburn.

However, the team's struggles continued as Coburn stepped out to stop Monroe from shooting a 3-pointer, and Choi Jin-soo took advantage of the gap and drove to the basket.

Samsung rallied with Coburn again in the final minutes of the game. 메이저사이트 Coburn scored back-to-back baskets against Monroe, who was forced to play less aggressive defense as fouls piled up, to make it 74-79 with just over two minutes to play.

Then, Lee Won-seok scored back-to-back baskets to pull within 78-79 with 41 seconds left in regulation.

Samsung's last chance came with 17 seconds left in regulation when LG's Yoo Yoo-sang, who tried to fight back, was blocked by Justin Gutang's pressure and his difficult shot failed to hit the rim.

At first, it looked like the veteran Monroe was stymied. As Coburn drove to the basket, Monroe sharply deflected the ball away, initially neutralizing Samsung's offense.

But Samsung stayed in control of the offense, and with one second left in regulation, Coburn's shot over Monroe hit the backboard and rimmed out for the eventual game-winner.

Coburn finished with a game-high 27 points and 14 rebounds for Samsung. LG was led by its perimeter players, including Yoo Yoo-sang (15 points), Jeon Sung-hyun and Yang Jun-seok (over 14 points).

At home, Anyang Jung-kwan held off Suwon KT 74-73 in a close game to earn their third win of the season (5 losses).

KT (4-4), which suffered back-to-back losses, saw its win percentage drop to 5 percent.

KT rallied from a 71-72 deficit with just over a minute left in regulation when Park Jun-young knocked down Bae Byeong-joon's shot in the air before delivering a pass that led to an easy layup for Rhett Hammonds.

However, the two teams traded chances right before the end.

KT's ace Heo Hoon failed to break through the defense with 22 seconds left in the game and the offense was turned over. Then, Jung Hyo-geun drew a foul against Park Joon-young 1.6 seconds before the end of the game, which gave Kwanjang a golden opportunity.

Jung calmly made both free throws to complete the 74-73 comeback.

Shooter Bae Byeong-joon scored 19 points, including three 3-pointers, and grabbed six rebounds to seal the victory for Chung.

KT was limited to 11 points from Heo Hoon, who was shooting poorly due to a wrist injury. Heo Hoon took 15 shots and missed 11.