25 Greatest NBA Conference Finals Moments

The NBA Playoffs have reached the Final Four as the Eastern and Western Conference Finals are set to begin.
Just like I've done with the first and second round, I have composed a list of what I think are the 25 best moments to occur in the Conference Finals.
So, without further adieu, let's begin the list:
25. 2009-LeBron’s Catch & Shoot

It appeared that the Orlando Magic were on the verge of going up 2-0 on the Cleveland Cavaliers as Hedu Turkoglu drained a 12-footer from the lane with to give Orlando a 95-93 with one second left as the Cavs called timeout.

All Cleveland could hope for was a catch-and-shoot situation to tie or possibly win the game.

That is when Moe Williams inbounded the ball to LeBron James, who fired up a 3-pointer over Turkoglu, that went through the basket to give the Cavs a shocking 96-95 win and tie the series at 1-1.

But the Magic would rebound from LeBron’s buzzer beater as they would go on to upset the Cavs in six games.

24. 1979-Washington Hears No Fat Lady

On their way to the 1978 NBA title, Washington Bullets head coach Dick Motta began using the phrase “The opera ain’t over til the fat lady sings”.

One year later, the Bullets used Motta’s words as motivation as they trailed 3-1 in the Eastern Conference Finals to the San Antonio Spurs(Yes, the Spurs were in the Eastern Conference from 1976-1980) to force a Game 7 back in Washington where the Bullets went on a 10-2 run in the final minutes, capped off by Bob Dandridge’s 12-footer with eight seconds left and Elvin Hayes’ block of Spurs guard James Silas’ shot with four seconds left to give Washington a 109-107 win to become the third team in NBA history to come back from a 3-1 series deficit to win a playoff series.

23. 1968-Boston Comes Back From The Dead

As the Philadelphia 76ers completing their five-game series win over the Boston Celtics in the 1967 Eastern Conference Finals, ending the Celtics’ eight-year reign as NBA champions, Philly fans chanted “Boston’s Dead”.

It certainly looked like Boston was dead when the two teams met again in the Conference Finals the following year as the Sixers held a 3-1 series lead with Game 5 in Philly.

But the Celtics won that Game in Philly(122-104), then won Game 6 back in Boston(114-106), and then going back to Philly where they won Game 7(100-96) to become the first team in NBA history to win a playoff series after trailing 3-1 in the series.

Bill Russell goes in for a lay-up during the 1968 Eastern Confernce Finals.

22. 1973-Ending the Garden Jinx

It seemed like a forgone conclusion that the Celtics were going to win Game 7 of their Eastern Conference Finals series against the New York Knicks, especially after winning Games 5 and 6 to go along with their all-time 10-0 record in Game 7s, with eight of those victories coming in the Boston Garden where this Game 7 was going to be played.

But the Knicks overcome the odds and beat the Celtics 94-78 to advance to their second straight NBA Finals and third in four years.

Walt Frazier had a near triple-double as he scored 25 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, and dished out seven assists in the Knicks' Game 7 win over the Celtics.

21. 2010-Artest Saves The Day

Unfortunately for Ron Artest he will be best remembered for igniting the infamous “Malice at the Palace” in 2004 that got him suspended for the rest of the 2004-05 NBA season, but his greatest playing moment occurred in the 2010 Western Conference Finals with the LA Lakers.

With the game tied at 101 with 3.5 seconds to play in Game 5 and the series tied 2-2, the Lakers put the ball in Kobe Bryant’s hands to try to win the game in regulation.

But Bryant fired up an airball from beyond the 3-point line, only to have Artest catch the airball and loft up a shot that banked off the backboard and into the basket as time expired to give the Lakers a 103-101 win and a 3-2 series lead.

The Lakers would win Game 6 to advance to earn their third straight trip to the NBA Finals.

20. 2016-Warriors Strike Down Thunder
The 73-win Golden State Warriors were on the verge of a embarrassing defeat as they trailed the Oklahoma City Thunder 3-1 in the Western Conference Finals.
However, the Warriors would come back to win the next three games, starting with a 120-111 win in Game 5, followed by a 108-101 win in Oklahoma City, thanks to Klay Thompson's record 11 3-pointers, and finished off their comeback with a 96-88 back home in Game 7, led by Steph Curry's 36 points, sending the Warriors to their second straight NBA Finals.

The Splash Brothers, Steph Curry(left) and Klay Thompson, lead the Warriors back from a 3-1 series deficit against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

19. 1982-The Boston Strangler

One year after blowing a 3-1 lead against the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals, the Philadelphia 76ers were in a similar predicament as the Celtics had come back from a 3-1 deficit to force a Game 7 at the Boston Garden in the Eastern Conference Finals. But the Sixers were not to be denied this time as Andrew Toney cemented his legacy as “The Boston Strangler” by scoring 34 points on 14-of-23 shooting to lead Philly to a 120-106 win and their second trip to the NBA Finals in three years where they faced off with the Los Angeles Lakers, leading Boston fans to chant “Beat LA!”

Andrew Toney averaged 26.4 points per game in the 1982 Eastern Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics.

18. 1998-Reggie Does It Again

Down 94-93 with 2.9 seconds left in Game 4, Pacers guard Reggie Miller shoved Michael Jordan out of the way to catch Derrick McKey’s inbound pass and fire up a 25-foot 3-pointer that sailed through the net with 0.7 seconds to give Indiana a 96-94 win to tie the series at 2-2.

The Bulls would go on to win the series in seven games but Miller’s buzzer beater was the most memorable moment of this series and added another clutch shot to Miller’s resume as one of the greatest clutch players in NBA history.

17. 1995-Magic and Pacers Trade Buzzer Beaters

Game 4 of the 1995 Eastern Conference Finals between the Orlando Magic and Indiana Pacers produced one of the wildest finishes in NBA playoff history as the lead changed four times in the last 13 seconds.

First, Magic guard Brian Shaw drilled a 3-pointer from the top of the key to give Orlando a 90-89 lead with 13.3 seconds left.

This was followed by Reggie Miller coming off a screen on the left wing to drain his own 3-pointer to put the Pacers back up 92-90 with 5.2 seconds left.

Then, Penny Hardaway fired up a 3-pointer over Indiana’s Haywoode Workman that went through the net with 1.3 seconds left to put Orlando back on top 93-92, seemingly for good.

But the Pacers had one last chance, and when Rik Smits caught Derrick Mckey’s inbounds pass, head faked Orlando’s Tree Rollins, and fired up a 16-foot jumper that went through the basket at the buzzer, Indiana had a wild 94-93 win and had evened up the series 2-2.

However, the Magic would go to win the series in seven games to earn their first trip to the NBA Finals in just their sixth year of existence.

16. 1994-Ewing’s Dunk

Knicks center Patrick Ewing had maybe the greatest performance of his NBA career in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Indiana Pacers as he poured in 24 points, grabbed 22 rebounds, dished out seven assists and blocked five shots, but it was his go-ahead dunk with 26.9 seconds left off a John Starks missed layup that helped secure the Knicks’ first trip to the NBA Finals since 1973 as they defeated the Indiana Pacers 94-90.

15. 1962-The Shooter Wins It For Boston

Celtics guard Sam Jones was nicknamed “The Shooter” because of his perfect form when shooting a jump shot as well as his clutch shooting.

It was his clutch shooting that got Boston past Wilt Chamberlain and the Philadelphia Warriors in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals when Jones hit a 15-foot jumper over Chamberlain to give the Celtics a 109-107 win and their sixth trip to the Finals.

(The Warriors would move to San Francisco the following season)

Sam Jones' jumper with two seconds left in Game 7 of the 1962 Eastern Conference Finals sent the Celtics to their sixth straight NBA Finals.

14. 1999-LJ’s Four-Point Play

The 1999 New York Knicks were seen as a time of destiny as they become the only #8 seed to reach the NBA Finals(the season was shortened to 50 games however) and that was proven in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Indiana Pacers.

Down 91-88 with 11.9 seconds left, Larry Johnson caught an inbounds pass from Charlie Ward, that was originally intended for Allen Houston, but the Pacers’ Jalen Rose tipped the ball, allowing for Johnson to get it.

As Johnson stood behind the 3-point line, Indiana’s Antonio Davis come to defend him and fouled him right as Johnson went into a shooting motion on a 3-pointer that went in the basket with 5.7 seconds left.

The officials awarded Johnson the basket and a chance to go to the free throw line to complete a possible 4-point play.

Johnson made the free throw which proved to be the winning point as the Knicks won 92-91 on their way to knocking off the Pacers in six games.

13. 2002-Greatest 4th Quarter Comeback

For three quarters of Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals, the New Jersey Nets absolutely owned the Boston Celtics as they built a 21-point lead, 74-53 after the first 36 minutes of play and seemed on their way to taking a 2-1 series lead.

But things turned in Boston’s favor as the 4th quarter began as the Celtics went on a 11-0 run to start to the quarter as they outscored the Nets 41-16 in the final 12 minutes to pull out a remarkable 94-90 victory as they overcome the largest deficit at the start of a 4th quarter and win a game in NBA playoff history.

However, the Celtics could not sustain the momentum of the historic comeback as the Nets would win the next three games to earn their first trip to the NBA Finals.

Paul Pierce celebrates after leading the Celtics to an historic comeback victory in Game 3 of the 2002 Eastern Conference Finals.

12. 1999-The Memorial Day Miracle

Played on Memorial Day, Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals saw the Portland Trail Blazers hold a 52-34 lead over the San Antonio Spurs early in the second half until the Spurs mounted a comeback to cut the lead to 85-83 with 12 seconds remaining.

That is when Spurs guard Mario Elie inbounded the ball to Sean Elliott, who had made five 3-pointers on the day and unbeknownst to anyone was playing with an ailment that would require a kidney transplant in the offseason, who got the ball despite a near-steal by Stacey Augmon, then turned around and fired a 3-pointer over 6-foot 11-inch Rasheed Wallace, with Elliott’s heels above the out-of-bounds line, that sailed through the net with nine seconds left to give San Antonio their first lead of the game at 86-85, a lead which they would hold as they kept Portland from scoring on their last possession.

The Blazers never recovered from the “Memorial Day Miracle” as the Spurs would go on to sweep Portland and advance to their first ever NBA Finals.

11. 2004-The Block

The 2004 Eastern Conference Finals was a defensive struggle between the Indiana Pacers and the Detroit Pistons as demonstrated by the combined 26 blocks in Game 2, with the Pistons blocking 19 shots.

But the biggest block of the game came with 17 seconds to play and Detroit nursing a 69-67 lead as Reggie Miller was going in for the game-tying layup only to have Pistons guard Tayshaun Prince block the ball right before it was going to go in the basket and into the hands of teammate Richard Hamilton.

The Pistons would make three free throws to ice the game and came away with a 72-67 win as turn the tide of the series as they evened the series 1-1 and would go on to win three of the next four games to win the series in six games, thanks in large part to “The Block”.

10. 1993-Bulls’ Barrage of Blocks

This series is remembered for John Starks’ baseline dunk in Game 2 and Michael Jordan’s 54 points in Game 4, but the defining moment of the series came in the final seconds of Game 5.

With the series tied 2-2 and the Bulls leading Game 5 by the score of 95-94, the Knicks had the ball with 28.8 seconds left and a chance to win the game.

New York worked the clock to around 10 seconds when Patrick Ewing passed the ball Charles Smith who was just three feet from the basket when his shot was blocked by Bulls forward Horace Grant.

Smith got the rebound only to have Jordan strip him of the ball as he went up but again Smith got the ball and attempted another shot, this time blocked by Scottie Pippen, but again ending up in the hands of Smith who tried to shoot it again only to have Pippen block it, this time causing a loose ball that was picked up by Grant, who then passed it off to Jordan, who then passed it to BJ Armstrong who made a layup as time expired to give the Bulls a 97-94 win and a 3-2 series lead.

The Knicks could not recover from the shocking Game 5 finish as they lost Game 6 back in Chicago as the Bulls advanced to the NBA Finals for the third year in a row.

9. 1997-Stockton Sends Jazz to the Finals

After 12 years together(nine of them with head coach Jerry Sloan), John Stockton and Karl Malone finally made it to the NBA Finals as Stockton drains a 3-pointer as time expires in Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals to give the Utah Jazz a 103-100 win over the Houston Rockets to send Utah to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history after 13 straight postseason appearances without making it to the championship round.

8. 2002-Big Shot Bob

Robert Horry is one of the greatest clutch shooters in NBA history and his most memorable shot came in Game 4 of the 2002 Western Conference Finals proves that.

After falling behind by 24 points in the first half, the Lakers stormed back to cut the deficit to a single basket, 99-97 with 11.8 seconds to play and possession of the ball.

The ball ended up in Kobe Bryant’s hands, but he missed a running layup from seven feet out that was rebounded by Shaquille O’Neal only to have him miss from point blank range.

The ball came to Kings center Vlade Divac who knocked the ball away from the basket hoping to run out the clock only to have land in the hands of Horry who was standing all alone behind the 3-point line.

Horry shot the ball over a lunging Chris Webber whose attempt to block the shot provide futile as the ball went through the net as time expired to give LA a 100-99 win which evened the series at 2-2.

The Lakers would go on to win the series in seven games.

7. 2007-Arrival of the King

Ever since he arrived in the NBA during the 2003-04 season, LeBron James was branded as the next Michael Jordan.

In the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals, he put together a performance reminiscent of Jordan and still seen by some as the greatest performance of James’ career.

With the series tied 2-2 as the two teams vied for control of the series in Game 5 in Detroit, James simply took over the game as he scored 29 of the Cavs’ last 30 points and the last 25 in a row, including the game-winning layup with 2.2 seconds left in double overtime to give Cleveland a 109-107 victory to give the Cavs a 3-2 series lead as LeBron finished the game with 48 points.

Cleveland would win Game 6 to clinch their first trip to the NBA Finals.

LeBron James scored all of the Cavaliers' 18 points in the two overtime periods of their 109-107 win against the Detroit Pistons.

6. 1994-Reggie vs Spike

While the Knicks ended up winning the war in the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals(see moment 16), the most memorable battle was won by the Indiana Pacers, thanks to one of the most explosive quarters by an individual in NBA playoff history.

With the series tied 2-2, the Knicks lead Game 5 by the score of 70-58 at the start of the 4th quarter when Pacers sharpshooter Reggie Miller caught fire and scored 25 points in the quarter, including five 3-pointers.

During his performance, Miller jarred with Knicks fan Spike Lee, who was sitting courtside as Indiana would outscore New York 35-16 in the final 12 minutes to pull out a 93-86 win and take a 3-2 series lead.

Reggie Miller eggs on an exasperated Spike Lee during his 25-point 4th quarter performance in Game 5 of the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals.

5. 2000-Lakers Comeback/Blazers Choke

The Blazers were on the verge of coming back from a 3-1 series deficit to win a NBA playoff series as they held a 75-60 lead with 10:28 to play in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals with the Los Angeles Lakers.

But that is when the Lakers went on a 15-0 run that featured two big 3-pointers by Brian Shaw, including one that tied the game at 75 with over four minutes to play as the Blazers missed 13 consecutive shots during that time.

However, it wasn’t till with 1:34 to go that the Lakers took the lead as Kobe Bryant sank two free throws to put LA on top 81-79 and then put the exclamation point on a 25-4 run with a alley-oop pass from Bryant to Shaquille O’Neal with 41.3 seconds left as the Lakers would go on to win the game 89-84 and advance to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1991.

4. 1986-Sampson’s Split-Second Shot

It appeared that Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals between the Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers was destined for overtime as the game was tied at 112 with one second left in regulation with the Rockets holding a 3-1 series lead.

That is when Rodney McCray inbounded the ball to Ralph Sampson, who caught the ball, then lofted up a shot all in one motion.

The ball bounced twice off the front rim before going through the hoop as time expired to give the Rockets a shocking 114-112 win and send them to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1981.

3. 1981-Cardiac Celtics Regarded by ESPN’s John Hollinger as the greatest playoff series of all time, the Boston Celtics came back from a 3-1 series deficit to defeat the Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference Finals by winning the last three games by a total of five points as five of the seven games were decided by two points or less.

The Sixers were on the verge of winning the series in five games as they held a 109-103 lead with 1:51 left in Game 5, only to have the Celtics go on a 8-0 run to get the 111-109 with M.L. Carr sinking the game-winning free throws with 20 seconds left.

Then in Game 6, Kevin McHale blocked Andrew Toney’s potential game-winning shot in the final seconds to preserve Boston’s 100-98 win in Philly, their first win in the “City of Brotherly Love” since January 1979, to force a Game 7 at the Boston Garden where the Celtics trailed 89-82 with 5:41 left before going a 9-0 run, that was capped off by Larry Bird’s 12-foot bank shot with 1:03 to go that put the Celtics in the lead for good as they held on to a 91-90 win to become the fourth team in NBA history to come back from a 3-1 deficit to win a playoff series.

Larry Bird lead the Celtics to an epic comeback in the 1981 Eastern Conference Finals against the Philadelphia 76ers.

2. 1987-Bird of Prey

Down 107-106 with 17 seconds to play in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Boston Celtics looked to their superstar Larry Bird in hopes of delivering another clutch basket in the final seconds.

But as Bird drove to the left baseline, his shot was blocked by the Pistons’ Dennis Rodman and then went out of bounds off teammate Jerry Sichting, giving the Pistons the ball with five seconds left.

Instead of calling timeout to inbounds the ball at midcourt, Pistons guard Isiah Thomas decided to inbound the ball immediately and lofted a soft pass to Bill Laimbeer.

But before Laimbeer could get his hands around the ball, Bird leapt in and was able to make the steal, keep his feet inbounds, and then passed it to a streaking Dennis Johnson who laid up for the game-winning basket with one second left to give the Celtics an remarkable 108-107 win and a 3-2 series lead.

The Celtics would eventually win the series in seven games to earn their fourth straight trip to the NBA Finals, thanks in large part to Bird’s steal which was reminiscent of another famous steal by a Boston Celtic 22 years earlier….

1. 1965-Havlicek Steals The Ball
It’s ironic that the greatest moment of the Boston Celtics dynasty of the late 1950s and the 1960s occurred in the Conference Finals and not in the NBA Finals.

In Game 7 of the 1965 Eastern Conference Finals, Boston was nursing just a one-point lead, 110-109, over the Philadelphia 76ers when center Bill Russell threw the inbounds pass into the wire that supported the backboard, resulting in a turnover and giving the Sixers a chance to win the game with five seconds left with the ball at the Philadelphia end of the court.

But as Hal Greer threw the inbounds pass to Chet Walker, Celtics forward John Havlicek was able to tip the pass away from Walker and into the hands of Sam Jones, who dribbled out the clock to preserve the Celtics victory and send Boston to the NBA Finals for the ninth year in a row.

It was the most famous play of Havlicek's 16-year Hall-of-Fame career thanks in large part to Celtics announcer Johnny Most’s call of the play.