Members of our #NBArank panel are recounting the greatest NBA Finals games. First, we asked five NBA writers to share their favorites. Now, Kevin Pelton is ranking his top 25 Finals games of all time. We'll unveil five per day.
To rank the top 25 Finals games since 1980, Pelton used four criteria: the importance of the game, the quality of play in the game, the significance of the individual performances and additional factors, such as an exciting finish, a memorable play or a great shot.
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1985 Finals, Game 4: Dennis Johnson's game winner
Score: Boston 107, L.A. Lakers 105
Result: Celtics tie series 2-2
After getting blown out 148-114 in Game 1 of the 1985 Finals -- better known as the "Memorial Day Massacre" -- the Lakers won the next two games to take control of the series. In the first year of the NBA's 2-3-2 format for the Finals, the Lakers' Game 2 win gave them the chance to win the championship without returning to Boston. Dennis Johnson wouldn't let that happen.
The late Hall of Famer had one of his best performances, scoring 27 points, handing out 12 assists and grabbing seven rebounds in Game 4. Johnson capped the performance by scoring the winning basket. With the game tied at 105, Celtics star Larry Bird drew a double team and found Johnson, who made a jumper with two seconds remaining.
Alas, reclaiming home-court advantage wasn't enough for Boston. The Lakers won the next two games and the title, their first ever against the rival Celtics.
2001 Finals, Game 1: Iverson steps over Ty Lue
Score: Philadelphia 107, L.A. Lakers 101 (OT)
Result: Sixers take 1-0 series lead
The defending champion Lakers entered the 2001 NBA Finals unbeaten on the postseason and coming off a dominating sweep of the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference finals, while the Philadelphia 76ers had gone seven games to win their previous two series. Yet Philadelphia had the answer to the Lakers' hot streak in the Answer, Allen Iverson.
Iverson scored 30 points in the first half, helping the Sixers overcome an early deficit to lead by as many as 15 points in the third quarter. Enter current Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue, who came off the bench to defend Iverson and helped hold him to three points in the fourth quarter as the Lakers forced overtime.
In the extra session, Iverson got the best of Lue, hitting a stepback jumper over him to give Philadelphia the lead for good before dramatically stepping over Lue during his way back on defense. Iverson's seven overtime points gave him 48 for the game and helped the Sixers secure the win despite 44 points and 15 rebounds from Shaquille O'Neal.
The Lakers would win the next four games, leaving Philadelphia's Game 1 victory as the only blemish on the best playoff run since the playoffs expanded to 16 teams in 1984.
2000 Finals, Game 4: Kobe saves the day
Score: L.A. Lakers 120, Indiana 118 (OT)
Result: Lakers take 3-1 series lead
With the Lakers leading by three almost exactly halfway through overtime of Game 4 of the 2000 Finals, MVP Shaquille O'Neal picked up his sixth foul, sending him to the bench. O'Neal had carried the Lakers, scoring 14 of his game-high 36 points in the fourth quarter, but it turned out the Lakers had another MVP they could count on to carry them home.
"Kobe [Bryant] looked over at me and said, 'Don't worry about it. I got it,'" O'Neal recalled. "He was feeling it."
Bryant hadn't yet ascended to MVP level, of course, but the 21-year-old budding star made his first big impact on the national stage in overtime. Playing through a sprained ankle suffered earlier in the series, he scored six points the rest of the way, including a tap-in with 5.9 seconds left that extended the Lakers' lead to three. Reggie Miller missed at the buzzer and the Lakers took a 3-1 lead.
The Pacers would blow out the Lakers in Game 5 to extend the series, but back home in L.A. for Game 6, the Lakers secured their first title since 1988 back home in L.A.
1995 Finals, Game 1: The Nick Anderson game
Score: Houston 120, Orlando 118
Result: Rockets take 1-0 series lead
In the first Finals game in franchise history, the Magic appeared to have victory in hand right until it wasn't. Having rallied from a seven-point deficit at the start of the fourth quarter, Orlando led by three with the ball in the final seconds when the Rockets fouled Nick Anderson. The 70 percent foul shooter missed both shots, only to grab his own rebound and get fouled again ... before yet again missing both shots.
The four missed free throws gave Houston the ball with a chance to tie, and Kenny Smith did just that, forcing overtime with his Finals-record seventh 3-pointer of the game. The extra session went back and forth, with Magic forward Dennis Scott's 3 tying the game with 5.5 seconds remaining. Clyde Drexler missed a driving runner on the other end, but he drew enough help defense for Hakeem Olajuwon to sneak in for the game-winning tip-in with three-tenths of a second remaining.
Houston would go on to complete an improbable sweep to complete back-to-back championships, becoming the lowest-seeded team to win the title.
"We had nonbelievers all along the way," Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich said at the trophy presentation, "and I have one thing to say to those nonbelievers: Don't ever underestimate the heart of a champion."
1990 Finals, Game 5: 'The Microwave' seals the deal
Score: Detroit 92, Portland 90
Result: Pistons win series 4-1
The Pistons already held a commanding 3-1 lead entering Game 5 of the 1990 Finals at Memorial Coliseum in Portland, and they secured their second consecutive championship thanks to a key shot from reserve Vinnie Johnson, better known as "The Microwave."
Looking to extend the series, the Blazers led by eight early in the fourth quarter and by seven as late as the 2:05 mark. Both times, Johnson answered by heating up. He went on a personal 9-0 run to erase the earlier lead, then powered a 9-0 run to win the game and the series as Portland went scoreless over the final 2:05.
With the score tied, Johnson capped the run by making the series-winning jumper over defender Jerome Kersey with 0.7 seconds remaining, giving him the additional nickname "007" to go with the Microwave moniker. All 16 of Johnson's points came in the final quarter.
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