Watch: Mavs big man narrowly misses Wilt Chamberlain record
Daniel Gafford was a lucky bounce off the rim away from continuing his streak. Alas, it wasn't to be.
Entering Thursday's game against the Thunder, Gafford had made 33 straight shots over his last five outings and needed just two more field goals to tie a Wilt Chamberlain record set in 1967. Unfortunately, he missed his first shot attempt — a simple putback layup he would have made nine out of 10 times.
On commentary, TNT's Stan Van Gundy confirmed the end of Gafford's hot streak.
"That's his first miss in 34 attempts," Van Gundy declared.
Considering that the game aired on TNT, Gafford was facing the national limelight as opposed to a game airing on Dallas' local station. Did he buckle under pressure? Or was it just a case of bad luck? Before the game, Gafford said he didn't want to "jinx [him]self" when asked if he was confident about the record.
Incidentally, Gafford's individual streak ended along with Dallas' four-game winning streak, albeit without an injured Luka Doncic. After their 126-119 loss to the Thunder, Mavs coach Jason Kidd had words of consolation for Gafford, asking the big man to be proud of his 33-for-33 makes.
"The streak is very impressive," Kidd told reporters. "When you're talking about the likes of Wilt Chamberlain, not too many people are in that air. And so for Gaff to be there, to be mentioned with Wilt, is pretty special."
Gafford himself had a positive attitude despite missing out on "The Big Dipper's" 57-year record.
"All good things do come to an end," Gafford admitted. "I'm going to be greedy now. I want it again... End of the day, I just come out and stay positive and have fun with the game. I was a bit butthurt when I missed the first layup [laughs] but it's all good."
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