PORTLAND, Ore. – We all know the rules of tic-tac-toe. Get three spots in a row horizontally, vertically or diagonally and you win.
But for two Portland Trail Blazers fans, it wasn't that easy.
During a break in Thursday’s game against the Charlotte Hornets, the Blazers welcomed two contestants onto the court to play a basketball version of the game. It appeared simple: make a layup, and you get a spot on the tic-tac-toe board.
One of those contestants, Morgan Maleta, said she was asked to participate in the contest during the game. She says her mother coached her up prior to going out on the court.
"We actually practiced on the back of our program," Morgan's mom, Mary, said.
Morgan made a layup before her opponent, Grace, so she took the center spot on the tic-tac-toe board, the proper play. But as you can see in the video below that has now gone viral, the game went sideways from there.
During the chaos, Morgan had an opportunity to win but didn't realize it.
"I'm focused on blocking [Grace] and I didn't realize that spot was open," she said.
She also got a little distracted.
"I catch Meyers and Ed Davis, or Caleb Swanigan, out of the corner of my eye watching and that's just where my mind went out the window," Morgan said.
Fortunately for her, Morgan was able to get another chance for the win and took advantage of it.
And while people across the country had a good laugh watching the bizarre game, Morgan is getting the last laugh. She left the Moda Center with an autographed ball, a Damian Lillard bobblehead and more.
