Welcome to our Decade of Basketball series, reminiscing about the greatest moments in the sport in the 2010s. Through video, we will relive the times from the last 10 years that bring goosebumps to the arms of those who witnessed them. Let’s celebrate the last decade of basketball and look forward to the next one we’re about to experience.
2013 NBA Finals Game 6
In one corner stood the Miami Heat – The Heatles in their third-straight NBA Finals and were seeking their second title in the row, with the allure of not one, not two, not three, and not even four championships still alive – and in the other was the San Antonio Spurs, who won four crowns from 1999-2007 but hadn’t reached the ultimate series since.
The Spurs took Game 1 in a close one, 92-88, but Miami responded and knotted the series in Game 2, 103-84, heading to San Antonio. The home team comfortably won Game 3, but the visiting Heat again replied strongly, claiming Game 4, 109-93. The Spurs would win Game 5 in San Antonio, though, 114-104, meaning a Game 6 victory would secure the franchise’s fifth NBA championship.
The game was tight through the first half before San Antonio opened up a 13-point lead late in the third quarter. Miami found itself down 10, 75-65, at the start of the final 12 minutes.
It didn’t take long for the Heat to take off in the fourth quarter, reclaiming the lead with 6:03 to play after Ray Allen drive the lane and converted a layup. The battle remained back-and-forth from there, and it came down to a final possession for the Heat that had to turn into three points.
With 19.4 seconds left in regulation, Miami rushed the ball up the court. LeBron James got a look for three from the wing, but it met iron. Chris Bosh won the mosh for the rebound, then wrestled it out to Allen on the corner. Fading away and with Tony Parker contesting, Allen launched as seconds wound down. Miraculously, with 5.2 ticks to go, the rock splashed nylon, and Miami had the game tied at 95.
The matchup would go to overtime, and the Heat would prevail, 103-100, to stay alive and force a Game 7. They would then win that Game 7, 95-88, to clinch a second-straight league-wide triumph. It wouldn’t have been possible, though, without Allen’s unbelievably clutch shot, and that’s why his play in Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals is one of the top moments in the past decade of basketball.
