6 Craziest Match Endings in NBA History

Miracles under the basket...!

6 Craziest Match Endings in NBA History min

Basketball is a fast-paced, energetic game where the score can change in favor of either team in a matter of moments (possibly multiple times). In the end of an even game, those of weaker natures faint and those of tougher natures at least tremble with their knees.

With the final siren, a kick from half court and the ball miraculously falls into the basket. Scoreboard shows three points for the lucky team and the score changes in their favor. Crowd goes wild (or falls to the floor). Histories like this are written on scoreboards all over the world.

The following chapters feature six endings to games that have shaped the history of the world’s most famous basketball competition – the American NBA. Enjoy!

1970: Los Angeles Lakers – New York Knicks 108:111 after overtime

Back in 1970, Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks fought for the most valuable trophy. Their first two meetings were held on the court of the New York team, and for their third duel the two rivals moved to the western United States and parted 1-1.

The spectators of the first game in Los Angeles witnessed one of the most memorable duels in NBA history at that time. The game was tied with 15 seconds left, but three seconds before the end of regulation time, Dave Debuscherre scored the 102-100 winning goal for the visitors. The game seemed to be decided.

But a frustrated Wilt Chamberlain threw the ball to Jerry West, the latter quickly dribbled into the middle of the field and shot the ball.The ball sailed to the plate, rebounded into the basket, and the hall went wild. Game had to be decided in overtime (three-point shots didn’t exist yet).

In the extra time, the Lakers, mentally superior, did not manage to overcome their opponent and lost the game 108-111. At the end, it was the Knicks who were the luckier ones in the final series. It was decided in Game 7, winning 113-99 at home.

1999: New York Knicks – Indiana Pacers 92:91

In 1999, New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers faced each other in the Eastern Conference finals. After playing the first two games on the Pacers’ court, the series came into Madison Square Garden tied 1-1. That third game was one of the most memorable to be played in that legendary arena.

Just before the end of the game, the visitors led 91:88, but just moments before the final buzzer, following a mistake by Indiana, Larry Johnson got the ball and hit a fantastic three-pointer. The match was tied and the arena was full of tension.

It wasn’t over yet, however. Johnson got another free throw on top of that. He tossed the ball into the basket and turned the score to 92-91 for the home team. Leading 2-1 in the series, Knicks eventually won it 4-2, but lost 4-1 to the Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs in the finals.

2004: San Antonio Spurs – Los Angeles Lakers 73:74

It is amazing how long a single second can sometimes be. Both players and spectators who witnessed the fifth Western Conference semifinal game in 2004, when the San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Lakers squared off, could talk.

With the Spurs leading 2-0 after two at home, and the Lakers falling behind 2-1 in the third game of the series on their home floor, the Spurs fell just short in the fourth meeting. Four-tenths of a second before the final buzzer, Tim Duncan put the ball in the visitors’ basket and San Antonio led 73-72, however Los Angeles managed to turn the score in the remaining time.

Hero of the last minute of the fourth game of the series was Derek Fisher. Thanks to his goal, Los Angeles managed to equalize the score 2:2, and having won the next two games, they moved on to the Western Conference Finals, where they beat Minnesota 4:2. In the NBA Finals, however, they failed to beat Detroit.

1999: San Antonio Spurs – Portland Blazers 86-85

NBA playoffs in 1999 followed the regular season, which was shortened by the lockout and in which each team played only 50 games. Both the San Antonio Spurs and the Portland Blazers met in the Western Conference Finals.

Their first two games were played at San Antonio’s home arena. It was the home team that won the opening game, but Portland was closer to victory two days later.

The visitors led 85-83 with twelve seconds left and the home team was in the game. Immediately, that ball came to Sean Elliott in the corner of the court, and he acrobatically took it and, standing on his toes to prevent the referees from whistling a foul, took a shot from an almost impossible angle.

It fell into the basket and the score turned in favor of the Spurs, who then won the next two meetings to take the series 4-0. In the finals, they beat the New York Knicks 4-1 to win their first NBA title.

2002: Sacramento Kings – Los Angeles Lakers 99:100

In the 2002 Western Conference Finals, they faced the Sacramento Kings and the Los Angeles Lakers. The series began on the Lakers’ home court and went to Sacramento with a 1-1 tie. Their home team won the third game and was on the verge of winning the fourth game as well.

Kings entered the game with a huge lead and were already up by 24 points after the first quarter. At halftime they had a 14-point lead, which shrunk to seven points after the third horn. With a few seconds left, home team was still in the lead by two points. In vain, the visitors Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal tried to get the ball to the basket.

It seemed that Sacramento would survive the Lakers’ last possession, yet Robert Horry changed everything, as he is to this day one of only two players to have won an NBA title with three different teams. He earned the nickname Big Shot Rob during his career because he was able to score in the most important moments of the games. Just like this one.

Sacramento’s Vlade Divac tried to drive the ball down the middle of the court at the last second, but only pushed it to Horry, making a shot across the three-point line as the siren sounded. That ball went right into the basket and the Lakers were able to celebrate. The Lakers evened the series at 2-2 and eventually won it 4-3, which paved the way to the finals where they defeated the New Jersey Nets 4-0 to win another title.

1976: Boston Celtics – Phoenix Suns 128-126 after 3rd overtime

Back in 1976, Boston Celtics and Phoenix Suns battled each other in the finals series. Boston was the favorite and led 2-0 on their home court after the first two games, however the Suns fared better in the next two games in front of their home crowd and the series was moved to the Celtics’ home court for the fifth game.

That meeting went down in history. It was decided in the third overtime, though the most dramatic moments came before the siren that ended the second overtime. 19 seconds left, and Boston was leading 109-106, then Phoenix managed to turn the score with two precise throws after several misses by the home team. Suddenly, with six seconds left, Suns led 110-109.

The home team, however, was able to counter and turn the score to 111-110 in their favor one second before the buzzer after a drive by John Havlicek. Then there was a scuffle on the court where referee Richie was attacked and the police had to intervene. As the situation calmed down, referees turned back the clock by one second and Boston was awarded a free throw due to a technical error by the visiting team. It was converted by the home team, taking a 112-110 lead.

Undisciplined spectators still crowded the court, though there was still one second to play. This was enough for Garfield Heard to level the game at 112-112. A crowd of 15,000, about to break out in euphoric cheers, had to wait a little longer. But in the third overtime, the Bostonians had the luckier hand, won 128:126 and led 3:2 in the series. And since they also won the sixth game on their opponent’s court, they were able to celebrate the title.

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