The best games in NBA history combine drama (no one sided games), with the result being not clear until right to the very end. Many of them had great individual performances as well. Here are the games that I consider to be the 5 best 7 gamers ever.
1. St. Louis vs Boston, NBA Finals, April 12th, 1957
It took no less than two overtimes for the Celtics to beat the Hawks with the basketball scoreboards showing 125-123. The then rookie of the year – Tommy Heinsohn, scored 37 points in Game 7. Heinsohn was extremely important, as Sharman and Cousy could only shoot for 5-for-40. Russell did well, scoring 19 points, and making 33 rebounds and 5 blocks.
2. Houston vs Phoenix, West semifinals, May 20th, 1995
Houston was down 3-1 and 9 points with 5 minutes left in the third quarter of Game 7. Whilst Kevin Johnson scored a massive 46 points for Phoenix, Houston turned the game on its head with a 22-11 run. With the game tied, Mario Elie’s 3-pointer with just 7 seconds left made it 113-110, and they held on for a 115-114 win.
3. L.A. Lakers vs Boston, NBA Finals, April 18th, 1962
With 74 left on the clock, Boston were ahead 100-96. Then Frank Selvy hit two great shots to even it up, and he could have won it in regulation time, but he missed a free 12-footer with just 7 seconds remaining. The game then went into overtime, and the Celtics won their fourth straight championship, with the basketball scoreboards showing 110-107. Russell scored 30 points and equaled the playoff record with an incredible 44 rebounds
4. L.A. Lakers vs Sacramento, West finals, June 2nd, 2002
The Kings put up a great fight against LA, challenging the undisputed team of the era to one of their toughest series. Shaq and Kobe, however, combined to make 65 points, 23 rebounds and 11 blocks and got the job done. These performances won it for the Lakers and they came out with a 112-106 overtime victory.
6. Detroit vs San Antonio, NBA Finals, June 23rd, 2005
A final which was tied at the beginning of the fourth quarter of Game 7; the game was at 57 all after three quarters. The Pistons had led by ten in the 3rd quarter, but their main scoring threats, namely Chauncey Billups and Richard Hamilton, were not able to raise their game to their typically high level and they two scored only 9 out of 26. In contrast, Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan had a great end of the game to lead the Spurs to a 81-74 win.
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