It was as if Darius Garland were a kid again, counting down seconds on the shot clock. 3 … He’d dribble on the concrete court outside of his home in Gary, Indiana, picturing this moment: zooming past a defender to set up the game-winning shot.   2 …
He’d launch a buzzer-beater from God knows how far, well beyond the 3-point line his mother, Felicia, painted on the driveway.  1 …“Kobe!” Garland would scream in those moments, leaving a silky follow-through in the air for emphasis, as Bryant often did, as if to say: In case you didn’t know, I am that dude. Other times, young Garland would yell: “Derrick Rose!” or “Dame Time!” “You work for those big-time moments,” Garland says.