Late-game NBA timeout huddles often break before the national network returns from commercial. There's an extra window of about 20 seconds where players are left to wander and ponder.
Scribes lock into their laptops. Fans wrap up conversations. Players bide time. With 13.5 seconds left on Saturday night, Steven Adams went to the scorer's table to chalk his hands. Dion Waiters took a slow diagonal stroll from visiting bench to opposing sideline, calmly peering around a packed, distracted AT&T Center.
Everyone was doing their own thing. Until referee Marc Davis whistled the ball in play, handed it to Waiters and, in unison, everyone's focus returned to a singular point — 19 thousand people, 38 thousand eyes glued to Waiters.