FAKE RONJAN!!Box Score Monday: a trio of game-tying triples
It's been over half a year since our last Box Score Monday, the once-weekly segment detailing memorable games. Well, now that the NBA Playoffs have begun, we're bringing this segment back.
We'll start with perhaps my favorite game ever -- Game 1 from 2008's first round series between the Suns and the Spurs.
The back story is well-known, but here's the run-down:
- The Spurs came into the series as defending champions, and they'd won 3 of the past 5 titles
- They beat the Phoenix Suns in each of those three title seasons (2003, 2005, and 2007)
- They beat Steve Nash in each of those three title seasons (add in 2003 with the Mavs)
- Their 2007 series win was marred by a cheap shot foul that led to series-changing suspensions that some felt cost Phoenix the series
- The 2008 Spurs won 56 games and the Suns won 55 games ... yet this would be the 3 vs. 6 matchup in the playoffs, thanks to a very tight Western Conference
- The Suns traded for none other than Shaquille O'Neal to give them some size against their longtime nemesis
- The Suns won the 2008 season series, 3-1, setting the stage for potential revenge
And so the series began. And basically ended. In one memorable game.
The Suns started strong. They scored the first five points of the contest and pushed their lead to 43-27 with four minutes left in the first half. The Spurs closed the half on a run to cut the deficit to single digits, and the teams maintained a nerve-wracking shot-for-shot stalemate until about six minutes remained in the game.
The Spurs mounted a final charge and took a lead with two-and-a-half minutes remaining, but Phoenix rallied to hold a 93-90 lead with 20 seconds left. One shot left.
Michael Finley delivers! Overtime.
Steve Nash took on the scoring load in overtime, hitting a three that gave the Suns a five-point lead with just over two minutes remaining. But the Spurs rallied to 104-101, and had the ball with 12.6 seconds remaining.
The next moment is one of my favorite sports memories ever.
What a moment. (And a great NBA commercial the next season.)
In double overtime, four times the Spurs took a two-point lead, four times the Suns tied it up. The Spurs then took a three-point lead and this time it was the Suns who were down to their last shot with under 20 seconds to go.
Nash held up his end of the bargain, hitting the contest's third late-game-tying three, but Manu Ginobili hit a game winning layup with just seconds remaining.
What. A. Game. I've never seen another like it -- with the back stories, the tension, and the ridiculous game-tying shots.
The Spurs would go on to win the series in 5 games, and the Suns have never been the same. Phoenix did finally beat San Antonio in the 2010 playoffs, sweeping the 7-seed Spurs, but Amare Stoudemire left for the Knicks after the season and Phoenix hasn't made the playoffs since.
Go, Spurs, Go.
-rj