Tom Thibodeau had a story he would break out any time he was questioned about why he hadn’t thrown in the towel and removed his starters in a blowout. He would recall his days as an assistant coach with the Rockets and the game on Dec. 9, 2004, in which Tracy McGrady scored 13 points in the final 35 seconds, including a three-pointer with 1.7 seconds left that gave Houston an 81-80 victory over the Spurs.

Mike Brown has his own version. Just out of college, he was serving as a video assistant for the Nuggets, and with the Jazz leading by eight points and a little more than 30 seconds remaining on Feb. 8, 1994, he .saw the Nuggets' Rodney Rogers sink three three-point field goals in nine seconds. Denver celebrated too soon, though, and a length-of-the-court pass resulted in a jumper by J

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