By Stephen Barston
As the NBA playoffs draw to a close and the San Antonio
Spurs wait to find out who they will face in the finals, the excitement
continues to build. This exhilaration may be impressive to the first-time
viewer, but there have been countless other wild finishes and big moments in
NBA playoff history; here are a select five.
1. Michael Jordan’s Game-Winning Shot against the Utah Jazz:
Jordan’s
last shot ever in a Bulls uniform was a beautiful crossover over the
younger Bryon Russell, one that just proved what Kyrie
Irving’s alter ego Uncle Drew has taught us: an “old man” can always defeat
his younger competitor. This was just so magnificent in it only confirmed what
we had thought for a long time—no matter his age, Michael Jordan was the best
in NBA history. This sixth (and final) championship was further evidence.
2. Willis Reed Leads the Knicks to the NBA Title: Game 7 of
the 1970 NBA Finals, perennial-powerhouse Lakers vs. relative-newcomers
Knicks—not even this high amount of pressure could stop Willis Reed from
playing. Neither could a torn thigh muscle. Despite a lackluster performance
judging by the stat sheet, Reed’s motivation and resiliency gave encouragement
to both his teammates and the raucous crowd at MSG, thus leading the Knicks to
their first-ever NBA championship.
3. Reggie Miller Scores 8 Points in 9 Seconds: It’s a game
that is sure to haunt Knick fans everywhere (especially Spike Lee, the target
of this
taunt from Miller). The Knicks held a sound lead of 105-99 with 18.7
seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. Apparently, Reggie Miller really did
not want to lose Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Miller hit a
three-pointer to cut the lead to three with 16.4 seconds left. Then, Miller
intercepted an inbound pass and pulled up for a fast break three pointer to tie
the game with 13 seconds left on the clock. After missed free-throws by John
Starks and a missed putback by Patrick Ewing, the Knicks fouled Miller (who
knocked down both shots from the charity stripe), and the Indiana Pacer captain
solidified his place in the history books.
4. Michael Jordan Scores 63 Points Against the Celtics: Even
the most novice of NBA fans would probably understand Michael Jordan’s legacy
as an athlete, and this game is just testament to that fact. In 1986,
Jordan—against arguably the best Celtic squad ever put together—went off,
scoring a playoff record (one that still stands today) 63 points. Most of the
1985-86 season, Jordan had been unable to play, sidelined by a foot injury, and
this performance was one of many to come from Jordan himself and it was just a
foreshadowing of things to come in his illustrious career.
5. Julius Erving’s Baseline Scoop against the Lakers: Dr. J,
known for ferocious dunks, clearly has a side of finesse as well. This move,
where Erving went smoothly up-and-under the outreached arms of the Laker
defense, was praised
by his contemporary Magic Johnson as the greatest move he’s ever seen in a
game. The sheer thought that this man, with seemingly nowhere left to go except
out of bounds, could do something so awe-inspiring, so graceful, is enough to
get on the list, despite the fact that his Sixers ended up losing the series.
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