Lithuania's Ignas Sargiūnas channels inner-Tracy McGrady and scores nine points in 10 seconds in insane comeback win

Lithuania's Ignas Sargiūnas channels inner-Tracy McGrady and scores nine points in 10 seconds in insane comeback win

Winning a basketball game when you're down seven points with ten seconds left to play is almost always an insurmountable task…except if you're Ignas Sargiūnas.

During a FIBA World Cup Qualifiers Group D matchup between Lithuania and Great Britain on Friday, the Lithuanian sharpshooter showed that it was indeed possible, scoring nine straight points to will his team to an 89-88 victory.

Down 87-80, Sargiūnas drained a pull-up triple to cut the lead to four with about 9.8 seconds left in the game. Great Britain's Myles Hesson split a pair of free throws on the other end, pushing the lead back up to five, 88-83.

Sargiūnas would knock down another pull-up triple to make it a one-possession ball game, 88-86 with 3.5 seconds left.

All Great Britain needed to do was get a good inbound pass, and they would likely be fouled and sent back to the charity stripe with a chance to ice the game. Instead, they ended up with the worst-case scenario, which was turning the ball over. A risky pass led to a loose ball, which wound up in the hands of, you guessed it, Sargiūnas.

The hot-handed Lithuanian raced down the other end of the floor and launched it from about 35 feet. The ball touched nothing but net, and the Lithuanians completed the magical comeback to win, 89-88.

Sarguinas finished with a game-high 27 points, and three of his four made triples came in the last ten seconds of the contest.

With the win, Lithuania is now 1-0 in Group D of the 2027 FIBA World Cup Qualifiers.

Sargiūnas' heroics are reminiscent of McGrady and Miller

Sargiūnas' incredible game-winning nine-point explosion had people comparing him to NBA legends Reggie Miller and Tracy McGrady.

In 1995, Miller dropped eight points in nine seconds to help his Indiana Pacers bury the New York Knicks, 107-105, in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. Miller knocked down back-to-back triples and a pair of free throws in the final seconds to finish with 31 points. The Pacers went on to win that series in seven games.

Nearly a decade later, in 2004, McGrady scored 13 points in 35 seconds to lead the Houston Rockets to an incredible comeback win over the San Antonio Spurs. The Rockets were down 76-68 when McGrady went unconscious with 35 seconds left, scoring four straight triples, including a four-point play, to snatch the 81-80 win from the jaws of defeat. McGrady finished with 33 points, eight rebounds and five steals.

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Who is Ignas Sargiūnas?

Sargiūnas' incredible highlight may have just made him a star in international basketball and a household name among hoops fans.

The six-foot-four 24-year-old has been a mainstay with the Lithuanian national team since he was a teenager, competing in U16 and U18 tournaments since 2015. He made his men's national team debut this year as part of Lithuania's Eurobasket 2025 roster.

He currently plays for Rytas Vilnius as part of the Lithuanian Basketball League.

He played college ball for University of Georgia in 2018-2019, and declared for the NBA Draft in 2022, but went undrafted. If Sargiūnas can continue to play well in the World Cup Qualifiers, maybe it can be a pathway to a chance at making it into the NBA.

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This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Nov 28, 2025, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.