The Greatest Game 7s in NBA History

Throughout NBA history there have been 119 Game 7s, beginning in 1948 with a semifinal matchup between the Philadelphia Warriors and the St. Louis Bombers and continuing all the way through last weekend’s first round clash between the Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs. Of these games, 19 have occurred in the first round, 49 in the conference/division semifinals, 33 in the conference/division finals, and 18 in the NBA Finals. All manner of great players have participated, from Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain to Magic Johnson and Larry Bird to LeBron James and Tim Duncan.

There is, quite simply, no greater stage in basketball than a Game 7. The added urgency given to every possession makes it one of the most intense sporting experiences on earth, and with this enormous pressure we can quickly sort the truly great teams from the rest. We get so many Game 7 blowouts because, when the stakes are at their highest, many teams simply collapse.

However, when the teams are evenly-matched and both are fully prepared to do whatever it takes to win, that’s when we get a truly special game. While there are many to choose from, these are the Greatest Game 7s in NBA History.

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Round: Eastern Conference Semifinals
Date: 5/18/2008
Final Score: Celtics: 97 Cavaliers: 92
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In a game reminiscent of the famous Bird-Wilkins shootout from 20 years earlier, Paul Pierce and LeBron James engaged in an epic one-on-one duel in Boston. Both Pierce (41 points) and James (45 points) had it going all game long, and although the Celtics never trailed, there was little to separate the teams throughout. With the Celtics up three and a chance to close out the game from the free-throw line, Pierce hit the back iron on the first shot but saw the ball drop straight in to give the Celtics enough of a cushion to ensure their victory.

Round: Western Conference Semifinals
Date: 5/19/1990
Final score: Trail Blazers: 108, Spurs: 105
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With 2:32 to play in regulation, the Spurs held a 97-90 lead and looked like they were going to the Western Conference Finals. They managed to choke that lead away, though, and the game went to overtime. Once there, the Spurs managed to keep it tied at 100 with 30 seconds to go and possession of the ball.

That's when San Antonio's Rod Strickland—who had come over in a mid-season trade with the Knicks—inexplicably tried to throw a two-handed, no-look, behind-the-head pass to Sean Elliott, except Elliott was no longer there. The Blazers' Jerome Kersey was, however, and he saved it and in one motion flung it to Clyde Drexler, who had a clear path to the hoop and was fouled by Strickland. That meant two shots (Drexler made both) and possession (Portland scored again), securing a win for the Blazers.

Round: Eastern Conference Finals
Date: 5/31/1998
Final score: Bulls: 88, Pacers: 83
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It had been four years since Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls had played a Game 7, and the Indiana Pacers gave the aging team everything they could handle in the 1998 Eastern Conference Finals. Jordan (9-for-25) and Scottie Pippen (6-for-18) both struggled shooting the ball, but Chicago managed to hold Indiana scoreless over the game's final 2:05 to keep some distance between the two. The Bulls ended up out-rebounding the Pacers 50-34, eventually out-willing Indiana to earn their last trip to the Finals of the Jordan Era.

Round: NBA Finals
Date: 6/17/2010
Final score: Lakers: 83, Celtics: 79
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The Celtics and Lakers met in the NBA Finals for a remarkable 12th time in 2010, and the result was once again a tense series full of high drama. Fittingly, it would once again take seven games to decide between the two teams. With center Kendrick Perkins out after tearing his ACL in Game 6, the Celtics were exploited on the glass by the Lakers' big man duo of Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum, who combined for 13 offensive rebounds and a total of 24. A 6-for-24 shooting night from Kobe Bryant kept the game close, but the Lakers made all the plays they needed to down the stretch to squeak out a victory over their hated rivals.

Round: Western Conference Semifinals
Date: 6/4/2000
Final score: Lakers: 89, Trail Blazers: 84
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This game is best remembered for one moment: Kobe Bryant's alley-oop to Shaquille O'Neal, perhaps the most happy moment of their entire basketball marriage. But they could never have gotten there if not for an epic collapse by Portland, who led by 15 with 10 minutes remaining in the game only to miss 13 consecutive shots (including six by Rasheed Wallace) and watch their lead evaporate. A 5-for-23 team shooting performance in the final period sealed the Blazers' fate, and Shaq's dunk put the final nail in the coffin.

Round: NBA Finals
Date: 5/8/1970
Final score: Knicks: 113, Lakers: 99
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While this is known as the "Willis Reed Game," really it should be called the "Walt Frazier Game." Reed did, undoubtedly, provide a huge emotional life for the Knicks when he hobbled onto the floor and buried his first two shots of the game. He ended up playing most of the first half, going 2-for-5 with three rebounds and bothering Wilt Chamberlain into a 2-for-9 night. Despite this solid effort, Frazier was the Knicks' best player that night.

He eviscerated the Lakers for 36 points and 19 assists, leading New York to a blowout win and the first title in team history.

Round: NBA Finals
Date: 4/28/1966
Final score: Celtics: 95, Lakers: 93
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In what would be the final game of Red Auerbach's coaching career, the Celtics and Lakers engaged in yet another classic Game 7 in one of sports' greatest rivalries. The Celtics raced out to a big lead thanks to a horrific first half from L.A.'s Elgin Baylor and Jerry West, who combined to go 3-for-18 from the field.

However, the Lakers whittled the lead down six points with 20 seconds left, and then cut it to just two with four seconds left. At that point, though, the Celtics fans stormed the court to celebrate, and the Celtics dribbled out the clock with a wall of fans protecting the ball.

Round: Eastern Conference Semifinals
Date: 5/11/1986
Final score: Bucks: 113, 76ers: 112

The Philadelphia 76ers had a tremendous team in the early and mid-1980s, and they were poised to make yet another Eastern Conference Finals trip in 1986 when they took on the Milwaukee Bucks. The Bucks, however, proved to be a worthy adversary for the Sixers, and the teams engaged in a back-and-forth series that saw Game 7 come down to the final possession.

With just three seconds to go and the Bucks clinging to a one point lead at home, Philadelphia's Julius Erving cleared enough room for himself to get a good look at a jumper from just left of the free-throw line. The ball ricocheted off the players under the basket, falling to the floor as time expired and sending the Bucks on to the Conference Finals.

Round: NBA Finals
Date: 6/12/1984
Final score: Celtics: 111, Lakers: 102
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Larry Bird and Magic Johnson wrote the first chapter of their NBA rivalry in the 1984 Finals, and it was fitting that the first six games ended in a stalemate. The deciding seventh game from Boston was a classic, as the Celtics rode a 24-8-8 from Cedric Maxwell to take a commanding 14-point lead. The Lakers whittled it down, however, and had the ball down by just three with just over a minute to go. On the ensuing possession, however, Magic had the ball knocked away by Kevin McHale and Robert Parish, Dennis Johnson got fouled on the layup attempt, and the Celtics would ice their championship at the free-throw line.

Round: Western Conference Semifinals
Date: 5/22/2006
Final score: Mavericks: 119, Spurs: 111
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Last weekend's Game 7 meeting between the Mavericks and Spurs was not their first; they also met in an absolutely epic Game 7 in 2006. Trailing in the series 3-1, the Spurs came roaring back to host the deciding game in San Antonio, only to then see Dallas go 15-for-18 from the field in the first quarter and open up a 20-point lead late in the second.

The Spurs were undeterred, however, and behind 41 points from Tim Duncan came roaring back to tie the game at 101 with just over a minute to go. After they took a three-point lead on a Manu Ginobili three, Dirk Nowitzki (who scored 37) got an And-one on the other end to send the game to overtime. The Mavericks opened up OT with hoops on three straight possessions, putting the game out of reach.

Round: NBA Finals
Date: 6/20/2013
Final score: Heat: 95, Spurs: 88
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While most will remember last year's NBA Finals for the Heat's Game 6 comeback, Game 7 proved to be nearly as entertaining a game. The Heat led by just one point heading into the fourth quarter, and with 50 seconds remaining held a two-point lead when Tim Duncan had a seemingly easy opportunity to tie the game with a two-footer in the lane. The future Hall of Famer missed, LeBron James hit a jumper on the ensuing possession, and the game was pretty much over. James was fantastic all night, securing the Finals MVP award with a 37-point, 12-rebound performance in which he hit five three pointers and shut down Spurs' point guard Tony Parker on the defensive end of the floor.

Round: Western Conference Finals
Date: 6/2/2002
Final score: Lakers: 112, Kings: 106
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The Sacramento Kings committed one of the more epic choke jobs in NBA playoff history in this game, unfortunately defining their team's legacy as a result. They missed 14 of their 30 free-throw attempts, and Lakers forward Robert Horry summed it up best when he said that "[the Kings] tensed up down the stretch when Bibby was taking all the shots and the others were hesitating."

Kobe Bryant played a strong first three quarters before completly vanishing, only managing four points (all free throws) in the 4th and overtime. Shaquille O'Neal was the hero for L.A., putting up a 35-13 and giving his team the first road Game 7 win in franchise history.

Round: Eastern Division Finals
Date: 4/15/1965
Final score: Celtics: 110, 76ers: 109
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The great Russell-Chamberlain rivalry of the 1960s ensured that the Celtics and 76ers would meet in the playoffs with a trip to the Finals on the line seemingly every year. The 1965 Eastern Division Finals were no different, but this time it looked as if Wilt was going to get the best of his rival.

The Celtics were clinging to a one point lead, but the 76ers were inbounding the ball with five seconds to go after a Bill Russell inbound pass attempt hit one of the wires supporting the basket. Hall of Famer Hal Greer looked to get it to Wilt but Russell was all over him, so he looked elsewhere to another Hall of Famer in Chet Walker. Bad move.

The Celtics' John Havlicek knocked the pass away, and his teammate Sam Jones picked it up and dribbled out the clock.

Round: Western Conference Semifinals
Date: 5/20/1995
Final score: Rockets: 115, Suns: 114
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You may know this game as Mario Elie's "Kiss of Death," but it was so much more than that. Kevin Johnson played perhaps the finest game of his career, scoring 46 points and dishing out 10 assists and sinking his first 21 free-throw attempts.

However, attempt No. 22 rimmed out with 20.4 seconds to go and the game tied at 110, and on the ensuing Rockets possession Elie freed himself in the corner. Robert Horry's cross-court pass found the wide-open swingman, who buried the shot to put his team up for good and into the Western Conference Finals.

Round: NBA Finals
Date: 4/18/1962
Final score: Celtics: 110, Lakers: 107
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It’s hard to remember a time when Celtics-Lakers wasn’t a major rivalry, but these were two pretty unfamiliar foes before they locked up in the 1962 Finals. With the Celtics up by four and a minute to go in Game 7, it looked like they were set to cruise to the title. But the Lakers’ Frank Selvy hit two shots in a row to tie the game, and following a Celtics miss with seconds to go Selvy had a chance to win it. His wide open 15-footer rimmed out as the buzzer sounded, and the Celtics won the game in overtime thanks to five points in the period from Sam Jones. And thus, a rivalry was born.

Round: NBA Finals
Date: 5/5/1969
Final score: Celtics: 108, Lakers: 106
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The most famous anecdote about Game 7 of the 1969 Finals is nevertheless the most important: Lakers’ owner Jack Kent Cooke, assuming his team would prevail, had balloons put up in the rafters prior to the game and had them ready to drop when the Lakers knocked off the aging Boston Celtics. Bill Russell, ever the competitor, noticed the slight during warmups and barked at Jerry West, “Those [expletive deleted] balloons are staying up there.” And stay up there they did. The Celtics opened up a 91-76 lead entering the fourth quarter before the Lakers came storming back to make it a one-point game with 1:33 to go.

Boston’s Don Nelson had a fortuitous bounce go his way off the back iron, though, and some sloppy Laker play allowed the Celtics to win their 11th championship shortly thereafter.

Round: NBA Finals
Date: 6/21/1988
Final score: Lakers: 108, Pistons: 105
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After his heroic "sprained ankle game" in Game 6, the Detroit Pistons' Isiah Thomas had to follow up that performance with another equally outstanding effort if he wanted his team to win the title in Los Angeles. Zeke did his best, but mustered just 10 points and seven assists in 28 minutes.

A big game from Joe Dumars helped counteract a triple-double from "Big Game" James Worthy, and the Pistons trailed by just three points as they inbounded the ball with two seconds to go. Despite Thomas receiving the full-court pass and starting to shoot, the fans stormed the court and Magic Johnson body-checked Isiah before the clock ran out, only there was no call and the Lakers were champions.

Round: Eastern Conference Finals
Date: 5/3/1981
Final score: Celtics: 91, 76ers: 90
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This series is widely held as one of the best ever, and justifiably so; of the seven games, five of them were decided by either one or two points. That included Game 7, when the Celtics trailed by double-digits at one point but came back to tie the score late in the fourth quarter. Not surprisingly, Larry Bird then hit what would be the game-winning jumper with 1:03 left. Maurice Cheeks could have tied the game with free throws when he went to the line with 29 seconds on the clock, but he missed one of his attempts and the Celtics held on for the win.

Round: NBA Finals
Date: 5/13/1957
Final score: Celtics: 125, Hawks: 123
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If it had been played in 2014, Game 7 of the 1957 Finals would probably have led SportsCenter for three weeks straight. The Celtics were buoyed by the play of rookies Bill Russell (19 points, 32 rebounds) and Tommy Heinsohn (37 points, 23 rebounds), but the Hawks and their star Bob Pettit (39 points) were an equally formidable opponent.

Pettit sent the game to overtime with two free-throws in the dying seconds of regulation, and then in the second OT the game ended on one of the nuttiest plays in NBA history. With the Celtics up by two, seconds to play, and St. Louis inbounding from under their own basket, the Hawks' Alex Hannum threw the ball the length of the court and had it rebound off the backboard right to Pettit, who then missed two shots from point-blank range as time expired to give the Celtics their first title.