I don't usually like it when people tell me a game is over when the final score hasn't been decided. I watch basketball games until the final buzzer, hoping that something miraculous would happen. I have watched a ton of basketball games and I've seen so many strange things occur.
The latest of these anomalies is the Utah Jazz scoring 14 points in 28 seconds to send their game with the Heat to overtime (and, yes, Utah ended up taking the duke). The Jazz were down by eight before Paul Millsap went off for 11 points of those fourteen in those 28 seconds. They only showed Millsap's incredible run in this video but that's all you really need to see.
The following videos are some of my favorite (and known) comebacks in the waning minutes just to show people that the game is never over until it actually IS over.
EXHIBIT A: 1993. Witness Rodney Rogers (hope you're doing well, sir) shoot three three-pointers in a span of nine seconds. The Nuggets went on to actually lose the game to the Jazz but they erased an eight-point deficit and turned it into a one-point lead with a blink of an eye. And, honestly, I don't understand those inbound passes by Utah.
EXHIBIT B: 2004. The Rockets were down ten with less than a minute to go. Then Tracy McGrady went on a furious rally that saw him score four three-pointers (one of them on a four-point play) in a span of 35 seconds to steal the game from the Spurs, 81-80. Two things stood out to me in this video. 1) Devin Brown's incredulous look after he slipped on the play before T-Mac's last 3 (we all love Devin Brown). And 2) I was shocked Gregg Popovich didn't go on a rampage after the buzzer sounded.
EXHIBIT C: 1995. In perhaps the most famous fast and furious comeback in NBA Playoff History, Reggie Miller scored eight points in 9 seconds that wiped out the Knicks' 6-point lead and turned it into a 2-point win for the Pacers, 107-105. This was just one of many moments by Reggie Miller at Madison Square Garden but definitely the most memorable one.
EXHIBIT D: 2002. This was actually in a span of one quarter. The Dallas Mavericks seemingly had the game in hand against the Los Angeles Lakers entering the 4th quarter, 88-61. That's a whopping 27-point advantage. However, Kobe Bryant (who had injured his groin in the third) spearheaded an unbelievable resurrection as he pumped in 21 points in the 4th, including the game-winner with eight seconds left, as the Lakers completely stunned the Mavericks, 105-103. The Lakers scored 44 points overall in the final stanza while the Mavs only scored 15. L.A. hit 16 out of 18 field goals in the last 12 minutes.
This is why I've always told people that I refuse to call a game over until it really is. Hope these videos enlightened some of you on why I do that.
PHOTO CREDIT: Issac Baldizon/NBAE via Getty Images.
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