Memphis Grizzlies hit sudden death gamewinner

The Orlando Summer League match between the Memphis Grizzlies and Orlando Magic (Blue) went all the way down to the wire. In fact, it was so close that something that can only be found in summer league took place. Sudden death over time.

When a Summer League game enters overtime, periods are shortened to two minutes, and if that’s not enough to find find a winner then double overtime will be sudden death. From that point on the first team to score will win the game. In today’s contest, the Grizzlies came out on top despite multiple chances by the Magic to grab a rebound.

It was a close match, and it could have gone either way, but that’s what makes sudden death so exciting. It’s completely unpredictable, and anybody could end up being the hero. That said, it would leave an empty feeling if the NBA started to adapt this. It would never feel like the better team came on top, and luck would have far too much of a factor. It works in a setting like summer league where the games don’t matter, but professional games are definitely not the right place for them.

Of course, considering how exciting they are, maybe during the regular season they could try implementing sudden for triple or quadruple overtime, and the all-star game is a possibility as well. It’s unlikely to happen, but the chances of LeBron James going up against Kevin Durant in a sudden death situation is something that sounds way too awesome to pass up.