Watch: Fan wins $75,000 at LA Lakers game after hitting ridiculous shot from beyond the arc
The LA Lakers suffered a heartbreaking 116-115 buzzer-beating loss to the Indiana Pacers on Monday night. However, prior to that, one Lakers fan hit the shot of his life.
The fan, named Jamie Murry, had one shot from beyond halfcourt to try and win $75,000 between the third and fourth quarters. Murry wasted no time, winding up and launching the ball from over his shoulder. Despite the unorthodox shooting form, he then cashed the shot, much to the surprise of Lakers fans.
THIS FAN HIT THIS SHOT FROM BEYOND HALF COURT TO WIN $75K 🤯🤯 https://t.co/OvFih08UNP
Following the shot, Murry then celebrated with the Lakers' team, including All-Star forward Anthony Davis.
Anthony Davis and the @Lakers celebrate with a fan after he hit a halfcourt shot for $75,000! twitter.com/NBA/status/159… https://t.co/TvAXnjCPfA
Despite the Lakers going on to lose the game, it will surely be a night that Murry will never forget.
Last LA Lakers fan to hit a half-court shot for $75,000-or-more
Jamie Murry isn’t the first fan to cash a half-court shot for a large cash prize at an LA Lakers game. The team has been offering similar prize money since the 2006-2007 NBA season. However, Murry reportedly became the first fan to hit the big prize shot since January 2020.
Back in 2020, a Lakers fan hit a half-court shot for $100,000 in between the third and fourth quarters of a Lakers versus Pistons game. The fan elicited a similar reaction from the crowd.
Lakers fan hits halfcourt shot and wins $100K https://t.co/vV2kPbfLcz
Many other NBA franchises offer just around a $10,000 cash prize for hitting half-court shots. Others offer cars worth well below $75,000 to $100,000. So it appears that Lakers games are the best place for fans to cash in from halfcourt.
LA Lakers players and coaches react to tough loss to Indiana
The LA Lakers nearly escaped against Indiana before Pacers rookie point guard Andrew Nembhard hit a buzzer-beater three to win by one.
Pacers center Myles Turner missed the initial go-ahead 3-pointer with just over six seconds remaining. Pacers rising star point guard Tyrese Haliburton then secured the offensive rebound and found Nembhard open on the perimeter for the game-winner as time expired.
However, LA still had many opportunities to win the game before the final play. The Lakers were up by 17 in the fourth quarter before Indiana outscored them 32-14 to close the final nine-plus minutes of the game.
The Lakers were 347-0 when leading by 17+ points in the 4th quarter over the last 20 seasons entering tonight (reg & post).
They were the only NBA team that hadn't lost a game in that situation over that time.
Following the LA Lakers collapse, Lakers star forward LeBron James spoke about how everything went wrong for LA down the stretch of the fourth.
“Everything has to go wrong in order for you to lose a game like that. And everything went wrong,” James said.
“We messed up a coverage to start, and that’s how Myles Turner was able to get the open three. So that’s why we were in scramble mode after that. Even letting them get the offensive rebound, we should have came up with the offensive rebound,” James continued.
"Everything has to go wrong in order for you to lose a game like that and everything went wrong." - LeBron James speaks about the #Lakers blowing a 17-point lead to the Pacers. https://t.co/ITVwAUZlrk
Lakers coach Darvin Ham took the blame for the team’s loss. Ham said he needs to prepare the team for how to maintain big leads.
“The biggest thing for us, again, is understanding how to play with a lead and again, we’ll go back and watch film,” Ham said.
“Next time out, I’m sure I’ll do a much better job of keeping us organized,” Ham continued.
"I have to do a better job at keeping us organized." - Darvin Ham takes responsibility for Lakers losing to the Pacers. https://t.co/oRXAtJhn9F
Meanwhile, Anthony Davis reinforced the notion that the Lakers’ errors were self-induced.
“It was all self-inflicted wounds,” Davis said.
“That’s one thing we talk about a lot – shooting ourselves in the foot. And everything that led up to this loss in their comeback, that was on us,” Davis said.
"This one hurts." - Anthony Davis said rebounding and transition were their biggest challenges against the Pacers. https://t.co/kWK0JkAQoa
Following the loss, the Lakers have fallen to 7-12 and 13th in the Western Conference. Meanwhile, Indiana has improved to 12-8 and fourth in the Eastern Conference as they continue to be one of the surprise teams in the NBA.
Also read this: Reports: LA Lakers star players believe team 'couple of players away' from being serious title contenders
Or this: NBA Rumors: LA Lakers might end up trading summer acquisition Patrick Beverley