Ray Allen Saves 2013 Finals

In the 2013 NBA Finals, Lebron James and company were looking for their 2nd straight NBA Championship after beating the Thunder in 2012. Now they were playing a veteran Spurs team led by Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobli and young Kawhi Leonard. The Spurs were lead the series 3-2 as the series shifted back to Miami for Game 6. The game was close down the stretch, and this set the stage for Ray Allen’s clutchest 3 of his career.

The Miami Heat were up by 3, 85-82 with 5:16 left in the 4th when Kawhi Leonard made a floater to cut the lead to 1, 85-84. With 4:46 left, Lebron James made a layup to push the lead back to 3, 87-84. With 1:28 left, Tony Parker hit a step-back 3 to tie the game for the Spurs 89-89. The Heat turned the ball over and with 58.6 seconds left, Tony Parker hit a runner in the lane. This have the Spurs a 91-89 lead. The Heat turned it over again Manu Ginobli was fouled. With 37.2 seconds left, Ginobli had given the Spurs a 93-89 lead over the Heat. The Heat had yet another bad possession and Ginobli got fouled again. He hit 1/2 from the line to give the Spurs a 94-89 lead. With 20.1 seconds, Lebron James hit a 3 to cut the lead to 94-92. Kawhi Leonard stepped up to the line and hot 1/2 from the line and giving the Spurs a 95-92 lead with 19.4 seconds left. The Heat had no timeouts and had to race down the floor. With 11 seconds left, Lebron James missed a 3. Chris Bosh grabbed the huge offensive rebound and found Ray Allen backing up into the corner. He passed Allen the ball and Allen raises up for 3. He knocked down the shot with 5.2 seconds left. Tony Parker raced down the floor and threw up a prayer that was missed badly and gave Game 6 of NBA Finals overtime, the game tied at 95.

In the overtime session, Parker attacked the lane and dropped off a pass of a waiting Leonard who layed it in, 97-95 with 4:29 left in overtime. With 3:33 left, Lebron James throws a full-court pass to Bosh, who lays it in plus the foul. He missed the free throw and the game was tied 97-97. With 3:13 left in the overtime, Leonard made a short floater and gave the Spurs a 99-97 lead. With 2:32 left, Ray Allen made a layup, cutting the lead to 1, 100-99. With 1:43 left, Lebron James got the ball in the paint and floated it in, giving the Heat a 101-100 lead. The Heat played smothering defense on the other end and got the ball back. The end of the game was sloppy for both teams, but with 10 seconds left, the Spurs were pushing ball, but lost it in the lane and fouled Ray Allen with 1.9 seconds left. Allen hit both and gave Miami the 103-101 lead. Chris Bosh blocked Danny Green at the buzzer, and the Heat survived, 103-100. They went on to win Game 7 95-88 behind Lebron James’s 37 points. Without Ray Allen’s 3, the Heat would have never forced a Game 7 and would have lost the series. They would not have been back-to-back NBA Champions, but Ray Allen saved that all with perhaps one of the biggest shots in NBA Finals history.

I hope you enjoyed this Iconic Moment in NBA History, please leave a comment on what other Iconic Moments I should do.