ardner didn't have an opening statement so much as a sustained one. He moved the curve by inches in the first quarter — a clean look here, a contested stop there — and let the game come to him.
The third quarter is where it broke open — gardner 1' running dunk (2 pts) (johnson 3 ast) (+1.3). From that possession on, the curve never had to be rebuilt the same way twice.
The fourth was control. Gardner closed at -0.1 without needing a final flourish to get there.
Key moments