How ‘Chris Paul Hits A Huge Three’ became the epitaph of humiliated teams

Chris Paul Hits A Huge Three To Cut The Lead Down To 42 references a moment from Game 7 of the 2022 NBA Western Conference Finals that became a meme and copypasta about the big moments in sports that come amid crushing defeats.

Meme basics:

• Meme Creator: u/tephzh via Reddit
• Meme Type: Reaction, Copypasta
• First Appearance: May 15, 2022
• Origin Source: YouTube
• Peak Popularity: Nov. 2024

Origin

Game 7 of the NBA Western Conference Finals occurred on May 15, 2022, between the Dallas Mavericks and the Phoenix Suns. With seven minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Suns' Chris Paul hit a three-point shot, bringing the score to 107-65.

The moment was first shared on Reddit by u/tephzh in r/NBA. The title of the post read "[Highlight] Chris Paul hits a huge three to cut the lead down to 42."

It also appeared similarly captioned moments later on Twitter. Anyone who has ever been caught up in competition could appreciate the moment. A win is a win, even when a loss is involved.

Meme spread

Meant to recognize a triumphant moment amid an otherwise doomed game, people online recognized the absurdity of it all, and a meme was born.

Copypasta

The "Chris Paul Hits A Huge Three To Cut The Lead Down To 42" copypasta is used as a reply, particularly in sports moments where players perform at a high level despite the fact their team is sure to lose. It also applies to all other kinds of competitive situations.

Meme examples

Related memes:

• A short history of *that* Adele NBA meme
• ‘What Happened to the Game I Love?’—a meme history
• ‘I Owe You An Apology, I Wasn’t Really Familiar With Your Game’
• Brian Windhorst became an NBA meme. Now why is that?

The internet is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter here to get the best (and worst) of the internet straight into your inbox.