The Sacramento Kings either needed to beat the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday or not lose by 12 or more points for NBA In-Season Tournament implications.
They found themselves trailing 72-48 just before halftime with literally nothing going their way.
But the second half told a different story. Without Keegan Murray, the Kings outscored the Warriors 69-51 in the second half despite 15 missed free throws to complete the 124-123 comeback win.
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The result did two things: It finally ended Sacramento's poor run versus Golden State while also eliminating the Warriors from the tournament, as the Kings clinched a spot in the quarterfinals by winning Group C.
It all came down to Malik Monk's game-winning shot with 7.4 seconds to go, which put Sacramento over the top.
The Kings blitzed guard De'Aaron Fox but he moved the ball out to the right to Kevin Huerter behind the 3-point line, who then gave it to Monk along the baseline. Monk's baseline drive was cut off by Warriors center Kevon Looney, so he took it toward the elbow with forward Andrew Wiggins draped all over him before somehow bypassing his contest with an off-balanced conversion.
Golden State Warriors
It capped off a miraculous comeback in which Monk scored 21 points off the bench on 8-of-15 shooting, including a 3 of 7 clip from deep. Stephen Curry and Andrew Wiggins each dropped 29 points while Klay Thompson added 20, but this time the ball dropped in Sacramento's favor.
Here's how the NBA world reacted on social media to Monk's big shot and the subsequent Warriors' elimination: