Ray Allen has made countless clutch shots throughout his career, from timely buzzer-beaters at UConn to many others in the NBA. Yet none compare to the shot that ultimately defined his career, a corner 3-pointer for the Miami Heat that changed the landscape of NBA history in Game 6 of the NBA Finals against the legendary San Antonio Spurs.
The play was drawn out of a timeout by Erik Spoelstra, one that would put LeBron James, who was shooting a career-best 40.6% from deep that season, the chance to tie after coming off a Chris Bosh (moving) screen. It clanked. And it forced the Heat to improvise with one of the greatest shots in NBA Finals history.
“What’s funny about that is that’s an endgame situation we worked on all year long — the one that (James) missed,” the Heat coach said about the play, according to David Aldridge of The Athletic. “We’d work on it most practices and shootarounds, and never used it (in a game). We just never got to it, for whatever reason. Probably should have. We never got to it until that moment. And then, we clanked it.”
“Basketball is a game of imperfections,” added Allen about the moment that ultimately led to the Heat's second straight title. “You try to rehearse as much as you can, because you never know what’s going to happen. You try to be as proactive as you can. The good thing is, no matter where you are, the court doesn’t change. It looks so random, but it’s rehearsed. On the great teams I was on, we tried to rehearse the randomness, so everybody’s where they’re supposed to be. For me, it was (that) you know how many steps you are from the corner, without touching the out of bounds line.”
As fate would have it, Heat teammate Chris Bosh got a hold of the offensive rebound and swiftly dished it out to a backpedaling Allen, who knocked out a fading corner three with 5.2 seconds left, ultimately forcing overtime. The rest is history.
The Heat would go on to take Game 6, 103-100, and later Game 7, 95-88, earning Allen his second title along with some memories to forever cherish.
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