PHILADELPHIABoston Celtics wing Courtney Lee is usually one of the first players to address the media following Celtics games, win or lose.
But Friday night's 95-94 overtime loss to Philadelphia was different.
It was a disappointing loss on many levels, with few taking it to heart as much as Lee.
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"We had a lot of good looks. They just didn't go down, especially mine," Lee said.
He was referring to the wide open 3-pointer that he air balled with 25.9 seconds to play that would have given the C's a two-point lead.
Not only was it an air ball on an open shot, but it was a corner 3-pointer - the very shot that only former Celtic Ray Allen shot a higher percentage last season than Lee.
In his defense, Lee had spent the bulk of the overtime period and most of the fourth quarter on the Celtics bench.
He began the fourth, but was subbed out for Rajon Rondo with 9:49 to play. C's coach Doc Rivers subbed him back in briefly at the end of the fourth for defensive purposes, for Jason Terry.
Lee didn't re-enter the game until the 1:06 mark of overtime.
Rivers talked with Lee after the game about how it was unfair of him to put Lee on the floor in that position after having sat for such a long period of time.
But Lee wasn't trying to hear that.
"It doesn't matter; NBA players, we get paid to play this game," Lee said. "At least, gotta hit rim to give us a chance to get the offensive rebound. I didn't do that, so I'm very disappointed in myself."
Despite the missed opportunity, Lee says this won't have any impact on his confidence in his game moving forward.
"My confidence is always going to be there," he said. "I've been playing basketball for a while now. I can't count or recall how many times I've shot an air ball. You just have to continue to work, and keep practicing, that's all."
His teammates have no concerns that Lee will bounce back - possibly as early as Saturday against the same Sixers team.
"That could have been any one of us," said Jason Terry, who missed 11 of his 12 shots from the field. "I had my share tonight; other guys had theirs. But hey, this is what it's about, jumping right into the fire, new rivalries - obviously this is one of them - and we're going to see them again tomorrow. So it should be fun."
Said Lee: "This is definitely one we could have got. We get to see them (Saturday night); can't take the bitter taste out of our mouths for a while, until we play them (Saturday). But it's going to be good when we get them (Saturday) and we get the win."