Top 5 NBA Playoff Buzzer Beating Game Winners (2000s)
#5 Ron Artest LA Lakers vs Pho Suns, Western Conference Finals Game 5 - 2010
• With only 3.5 seconds remaining and the game tied at 101, Kobe Kobe Bryant received the inbounds pass from Lamar Odom on the right wing behind the three-point line. He jacked up a fadeaway that failed to hit anything. But luckily for the Lakers, the errant shot fell to Ron Artest who immediately rotated towards the basket and lofted a touch shot off the glass in the basket.
Artest's put back gave the Lakers the 3-2 series lead. They went on to win the series and the NBA Finals.
#4 Lebron James Cle Cavaliers vs Orl Magic, Game 2 Eastern Conference Finals - 2009
• With the game tied 93-93 and only 13.6 seconds remaining, the Magic's Hedo Türkoğlu ran the clock down to 2.6 seconds before taking and making a jump shot at the free throw line. This gave the Magic a 95-93 lead with only 1 second remaining. At the other end of the court (following a timeout) James caught the end bound pass just beyond the arc, and drained a three-pointer with time expiring.
This shot was huge because the Cavaliers would have fallen to 0-2 in the series heading to Orlando if LeBron's shot hadn't fallen. The shot would have found its way higher on the list if it were an elimination game or if the Cavs went on to win the championship (they won this series but eventually got swept by the Spurs in the NBA Finals).
#3 Robert Horry LA Lakers vs. Sac Kings, Western Conference Finals Game 4 - 2002
• Big Shot Bob strikes again. The Lakers trailed 99-97 with 10 seconds remaining. Kobe Bryant took the inbounds pass and drove past the Kings' Doug Christie to the basket. Bryant missed a contested layup. Shaquille O'neal (Shaq) rebounded Bryant's miss and attempted a put back, but he missed the point blank layup. Rather than grab the rebound, Vlade Divac of the Kings tipped the ball out towards the center of the court. Horry caught the ball after it took one bounce and let it fly from just beyond the arc. The clock expired while the ball was in flight and it went through the basket, giving the Lakers the 100-99 Game 4 victory tying the series at 2 games a piece.
The Lakers went on to win the series and sweep the New Jersey Nets to win their third consecutive NBA championship.
#2 Damian Lillard Por Trailblazers vs Hou Rockets, Western Conference 1st Round Game 6 - 2014
• Before the inbound to Lillard, the Blazers trailed 98-96 with just under a second remaining with .9 left on the clock. Lillard ran around two screens to spring free, sprinted towards the sideline and clapped to demand the basketball. He caught the pass between the left wing and the center of the arc behind the three-point line, elevated and sank the shot, sending the Blazers team and the crowd into a frenzy.
This shot gave the Blazers their first playoff series win in 14 years.
#1 Derek Fisher LA Lakers vs SA Spurs, Western Conference Semi Finals Game 5 - 2004
• Kobe Bryant's hit a clutch basket to give the Lakers a 72-71 lead with only 11.5 seconds remaining. After the Spurs timeout, Manu Ginobli of the Spurs inbounded to Tim Duncan while Shaq was hanging all over him. Duncan managed to get a shot up at the top of the arc falling away from the basket. He made it giving the Spurs a 73-72 lead, with just four tenths of a second left on the clock.
Gary Payton inbounded the ball to Derek Fisher. Fisher caught the pass facing the sideline, jumped, rotated 90 degrees in the air, and released the ball before time expired. When the ball went through the hoop, the Spurs stood on the court in stunned disbelief for several minutes.
This victory gave the Lakers a 3-2 series lead. The Lakers went on to win the series. Though the Lakers went on to lose in the NBA Finals to the Detroit Pistons, this shot is number one because Fisher made the most acrobatic play in the least amount of time, under the most pressure.
