#NBArank Best Finals Games: Pelton's list (No. 6-10)
— -- 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.
(Click here for 21-25, 16-20 and 11-15.)
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.
On to the countdown ...
2013 Finals, Game 7: Heat complete the comeback
Score: Miami 95, San Antonio 88
Result: Heat win 4-3
A shot in the air with the title hanging in the balance. Though it was Game 6 and not Game 7, that was the situation in 2013.
Less than 48 hours after suffering one of the most heartbreaking losses in NBA history, the Spurs returned to the scene of the crime at American Airlines Arena in Miami for a deciding Game 7 against the Heat. San Antonio showed no hangover from the loss, and the game was close throughout.
Miami entered the fourth quarter leading by one and was up two inside the final minute, when the Spurs took possession with a chance to tie or take the lead. Tim Duncan missed a running hook as well as a tip-in attempt, and LeBron James extended the lead to four with a jumper at the other end -- the only field goal by either team after the two-minute mark.
James completed his second Finals MVP performance with 37 points, including five 3-pointers, and 12 rebounds. Dwyane Wade added 23 points and 10 boards as the Heat repeated as champions.
2005 Finals, Game 5: Big Shot Rob's biggest shot
Score: San Antonio 96, Detroit 95 (OT)
Result: Spurs lead 3-2
No one shot gave Robert Horry the nickname "Big Shot Bob" (or is it "Big Shot Rob"?), but no game was bigger in cementing his clutch legacy than Game 5 of the 2005 Finals.
Horry's shooting was critical in a back-and-forth game with 18 ties and 12 lead changes. He scored 21 points in the last 18 minutes of action, making five 3-pointers. The last of those triples was the game winner. Up two in the final 10 seconds, the Pistons trapped Manu Ginobili in the corner, but he was able to get a pass through to Horry, who nailed a 3-pointer over the long arms of Tayshaun Prince with 5.8 seconds left. Richard Hamilton subsequently missed under duress at the other end.
"He's been in that situation so many times," Ginobili said. "He knows what it takes. He loves that moment."
Detroit would rally to win Game 6, forcing a deciding Game 7, but the Spurs prevailed there for the sixth of Horry's seven championships.
1997 Finals, Game 5: The flu game
Score: Chicago 90, Utah 88
Result: Bulls lead 3-2
Few games in NBA history are more readily identifiable from a single name than "the flu game" -- even if Michael Jordan might actually have had food poisoning rather than the flu, according to his personal trainer Tim Grover.
Whatever the culprit, Jordan was severely weakened for Game 5 in Salt Lake City, yet summoned an incredible performance seemingly on sheer will. With the other four Chicago starters combining for just 36 points, Jordan carried the team with 38 points on 13-of-27 shooting. And with the game on the line, Jordan led a 10-0 run to erase an eight-point Utah lead early in the fourth quarter before his 3-pointer broke a tie with 25 seconds left. Jeff Hornacek missed a tying 3 inside the final second.
Before that shot, teammate Scottie Pippen had to help Jordan to the bench during a timeout.
"That was probably the most difficult thing I've ever done," Jordan said. "I almost played myself into passing out just to win a basketball game. If we had lost, I would have been devastated."
1988 Finals, Game 6: The Isiah Thomas game
Score: L.A. Lakers 103, Detroit 102
Result: Series tied 3-3
No Finals game has been more memorable for a performance by a member of the losing team. Up 3-2 with the series headed back to the Forum in L.A., the Pistons had a chance to win their first championship and Isiah Thomas did everything he could to win it.
Thomas' 25 points in the third were (and remain) a Finals record for scoring in a quarter, and 11 of those points came after he sprained his ankle and returned to the game following a brief stint on the bench. Thomas' outburst gave Detroit, which had trailed by seven at halftime, a two-point lead headed into the fourth.
The last Thomas basket, with 1:17 left, gave him 43 points and the Pistons a one-point lead. However, the Lakers reclaimed the edge on two Kareem Abdul-Jabbar free throws with 14 seconds remaining, and Joe Dumars missed a runner on Detroit's last real chance.
Even in victory, the Lakers were astounded by Thomas' performance. "What Isiah Thomas did in the second half was just incredible," L.A. coach Pat Riley said.
1987 Finals, Game 4: The "junior, junior sky hook" game
Score: L.A. Lakers 107, Boston 106
Result: Lakers lead 3-1
The third and final Lakers-Celtics matchup of the 1980s saw the home team win the first three games of the series, setting up a key Game 4 at the Boston Garden. The Celtics led by as many as 16 in the third quarter, suggesting they would even the series. Still, the Lakers wouldn't go away, producing an all-time finish.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's dunk off a Magic Johnson's feed gave the Lakers their first lead of the second half at 104-103 with 29 seconds remaining. The Celtics reclaimed their advantage on a Larry Bird 3-pointer with 12 seconds left, but the Lakers cut the deficit in half with an Abdul-Jabbar free throw and retained possession when his second free throw went out of bounds off Boston.
That set the stage for Johnson, who drove on Kevin McHale after a switch and scored over him with what Magic called "my junior, junior sky hook" in deference to Abdul-Jabbar's famous hook shot. The Celtics still had a chance to win on Bird's 3 at the buzzer, but it bounced off the rim and the Lakers would win the series in six games.
"You expect to lose on a sky hook," Bird said afterward. "You don't expect it to be from Magic."
Coming Tuesday: #NBArank Best Finals Games 1-5
If you want to get involved in the discussion or just follow along, #NBArank is the Twitter hashtag to use. You can also follow along with @ESPNNBA as we count down the greatest Finals games ever.
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