Wright has 'LeBron moment' in Phoenix's thrilling win over TNT
MANILA, Philippines – "LeBron (James) hit a game winner on my team today."
Matthew Wright shared that as his motivation after drilling a triple to tow Phoenix past Magnolia on Sunday night, the first time the Fuel Masters defeated the Hotshots since the 2016 Governors' Cup.
Matthew. Wright. Clutch.
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The sweet-shooting guard was referring to LeBron James' game-winning floater in Cleveland's Game Three win over Toronto in the NBA playoffs earlier today.
Wright, it turned out, would have his own LeBron moment. After squandering multiple chances to wrest the lead and take control of the game, Wright went on to redeem himself.
But really, the Filipino-Canadian, who shared that he's an avid Toronto Raptors fan, said he was just simply executing what he has been working on during practice.
"I practice that shot, I practice with coach, we don't just shoot open shots, we shoot contested shots. I shoot about 100 contested shots in practice. When it comes to game situations, I rarely get open shots so I gotta change my approach so I can be prepared for moments like these," Wright revealed.
"I just tried to channel my inner 'Mamba," he added candidly, this time referring to another NBA great, Kobe Bryant.
But it also helped that Wright enjoyed sort of a "homecourt advantage" in what seemed like an encore.
"I hit a big shot against TNT last conference in this gym so I just tried to get to the same spot, a familiar spot," he continued.
Magnolia led by as many as 16 points before Phoenix got their bearings and started clawing back into the game. The Fuel Master haven't won against the Hotshots since Sept. 2, 2016.
And that milestone of a win couldn't have happened if not for Wright -- and his many motivations.
"This one felt really good because they've been whoopin our ass since I got into this league. They've had our number, they've been beating us by 20, 30, 40," the sharpshooter said.
"This was a huge win for us but it means nothing if we come back against NLEX and we wet the bed so we have to keep this momentum going," Wright, who finished with 19 in the game, closed.
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