ESPN'S BEST SINGLE GAME NBA FINALS PERFORMANCES

[teecee]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs/2010/columns/story?columnist=hollinger_john&page=BestFinalsGame-Individual-1



pretty dope list right there ( I think Magic's rookie game should be number 1, but its all good)


1. Michael Jordan, Bulls: 1997 Finals, Game 5

MIN    FGM-A    3PM-A    FTM-A    REB    AST    STL    BLK    TO    PTS
44    13-27    2-5    10-12    7    5    3    1    3    38

Game Score: 35.2                     Result: Bulls 90, Jazz 88                     Series: Bulls win in 6

Based solely on production, this game ranks high, but not at the top -- even after adjusting for pace and opponent, 15 other Finals games outrank it, including six by Jordan.

But in terms of impact and obstacles, "The Flu Game" is the most amazing thing I've ever seen. For starters, this was the deciding game of the series. Tied at two games apiece heading into Game 5, the win in Utah's hostile Delta Center essentially clinched a hard-fought championship for Chicago.

Of course, there were the obstacles Jordan faced thanks to a bout of food poisoning that would have rendered mere mortals unable to play. In total, though, this game represents the pinnacle of Jordan's greatness -- the combination of one-in-a-million talent with one-in-a-million drive.

Looking like he'd pass out at any moment during stoppages of play, Jordan nonetheless rallied the Bulls from an early 16-point deficit and dialed it up late, scoring 15 of his 38 points in the fourth quarter. The last points came on a 3-pointer with 26 seconds left in a tie game when Bryon Russell inexplicably left him to double Scottie Pippen in the post. That bucket would provide the winning points in the 90-88 victory, after which Jordan slumped toward the bench in total exhaustion.

Despite how ill he was, Jordan sat out only four minutes and held Jeff Hornacek to just seven points on 2-of-11 shooting. Between the incredibly high stakes and the singular determination he showed, this has to rank as the greatest Finals performance of the post-merger era.



2. Magic Johnson, Lakers: 1980 Finals, Game 6

MIN    FGM-A    FTM-A    REB    AST    STL    BLK    TO    PTS
47    14-23    14-14    15    7    3    1    5    42

Game Score: 36.5                Result: Lakers 123, 76ers 107               Series: Lakers win in 6

Years before Don Nelson invented the point-forward position, Magic Johnson, who was in his rookie season, played the most important game of the Lakers' season as a point-center. With Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who had been dominating the series, sidelined by an ankle injury as the Lakers headed to Philadelphia for Game 6, the consensus was that L.A. would need to take their lumps and then return home for a Game 7 rubber match.

Magic had other plans. Starting at center, he played all but one minute and exploded for 42 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists, including an impressive 14-of-14 from the line. While Magic wasn't technically playing center for much of the night -- Jim Chones and Mark Landsberger handled that -- he played every spot on the floor during the course of the evening and even launched a Kareem-style skyhook from the post to start the game. More importantly, his work on the boards was a huge factor in the Lakers' ability to overcome Kareem's absence.

Had there not been such high stakes or a need to switch positions, this was still an impressive performance, ranking 13th-best in Game Score among post-merger Finals games. And the final score doesn't indicate how important Johnson's performance was. The Lakers were clinging to a two-point lead with just over five minutes left before Magic scored nine points in L.A.'s closing kick.

Add in that it was a title-clincher and that the rookie was forced into a role he had never manned that season, and it's easy to see why this was one of the most memorable performances in history -- for those few who saw it in person, and for the many who watched it later that night on CBS, by tape delay, because the practice at the time was to televise Finals games after prime time.


3. James Worthy, Lakers: 1988 Finals, Game 7

MIN    FGM-A    FTM-A    REB    AST    STL    BLK    TO    PTS
44    15-22    6-10    16    10    2    0    5    36

Game Score: 36.2               Result: Lakers 108, Pistons 105              Series: Lakers win in 7

Worthy's Hall of Fame case would have been much more difficult without this game. "Big Game James," they called him, and this was his biggest.

In one of the most hotly contested Finals in history, Worthy exploded for 36 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists in the rubber match to allow L.A. to escape with a narrow 108-105 victory. For his efforts, Worthy won the Finals MVP and the Lakers became the league's first back-to-back champions in almost two decades.

Less well-known is that this game may be the greatest outlier in Finals history. In the entirety of the 1987-88 season, Worthy didn't have a single game with more than 12 rebounds. He also had only one game with more than 32 points and only one with double-digit assists. The odds of doing any one of these things against a team like the Pistons were small … but the chances of all three? Infinitesimal. In fact, it was the only triple-double of his 1,069-game career (including playoffs).

Yet there's no doubting how important Worthy was in that postseason. He averaged 21.1 points and shot 52.3 percent in the playoffs. Also overlooked is that he had 28 points and nine rebounds as the Lakers won by a whisker in Game 6.

Worthy's Game 7 eruption was the 14th-highest Finals Game Score of the post-merger era and the best by far in a seventh game. And the Lakers needed every one of those points, rebounds and assists to emerge victorious.

4. Michael Jordan, Bulls: 1998 Finals, Game 6

MIN    FGM-A    3PM-A    FTM-A    REB    AST    STL    BLK    TO    PTS
44    15-35    3-7    12-15    1    1    4    0    1    45

Game Score: 34.9                     Result: Bulls 87, Jazz 86                    Series: Bulls win in 6

Jordan's two most memorable moments both came in Utah, and this one would be his last in a Bulls uniform. Just a year and three days after his miraculous Game 5, Chicago's "Last Dance" squad was trying to walk into the sunset with a sixth championship.

The Bulls trailed by three in the final minute before Jordan took over. He made a running layup to pull the Bulls within one, then broke away from a cutting Jeff Hornacek to surprise an unsuspecting Karl Malone in the post and steal the ball. Jordan took the ball himself up court, nudged Bryon Russell aside and launched the now-famous jumper from the foul line to put the Bulls ahead with 5.2 seconds left. (Quick trivia fact: Ask any fan who took the last shot of this game and I bet they say Jordan. It was John Stockton, who missed a 3 at the buzzer.)

In sheer statistical terms, this game was good but unexceptional by Jordan's lofty standards. He finished with 45 points, a jaw-dropping total for a game that ended 87-86, but shot only 15 of 35 from the field and had just one assist and one rebound.

On the other hand, it was a road closeout game, the Jazz of the mid-'90s were probably the best non-championship team in league history and Jordan owned the final minute. Additionally, this Game 6 was a bit like a Game 7 for Chicago -- Scottie Pippen had hurt his back and was essentially useless, and the rubber match would have been in Utah. Finally, the historical ramifications were huge, and the replays are still shown, which is why everyone who saw MJ's shot remembers it like it was yesterday.

5. Karl Malone, Jazz: 1998 Finals, Game 5

MIN    FGM-A    3PM-A    FTM-A    REB    AST    STL    BLK    TO    PTS
44    17-27    0-1    5-6    9    5    1    1    1    39

Game Score: 40.8                     Result: Jazz 83, Bulls 81                    Series: Bulls win in 6

In the 33 Finals since the merger, this was the single best performance by a player whose team didn't win the series. Facing elimination, on the road, against one of the greatest teams of all time, Malone provided one glaring counterpoint to his less-than-scintillating playoff résumé by single-handedly dominating the Bulls.

Single-covered by all-world defender Dennis Rodman for much of the night, Malone converted an endless procession of mid-range turnaround jumpers from the left side (one of the most difficult shots in the game). Malone finished with 39 points on 17-of-27 shooting, added nine rebounds and five assists and had just one turnover.

Malone produced the second-highest Game Score in Finals history, as only Tim Duncan's 2003 annihilation of New Jersey in Game 1 ranks higher. However, we can't put Malone's performance any higher because it wasn't ultimately meaningful, as the Jazz lost Game 6 and the series. (Although Malone had a crucial turnover at the end, I should point out he played nearly as well in that contest, with 31 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists.)



You can click on the link at the top of the page to see the rest...

Kobe fans:  your boy has been in SEVEN finals...what game do you guys think would warrant a top 10 spot?   

[Teddy Roosevelt]

Kobe fans:  your boy has been in SEVEN finals...what game do you guys think would warrant a top 10 spot?   

Don't think it's a top 10, but the first one that comes to mind:

June 14, 2000: Game 4 vs. Indiana

After missing game 3 with a sprained ankle Kobe took control scoring 22 points in the second half and overtime. After Shaq fouled out in OT, Kobe scored 8 points (including 6 points and a blocked shot in the final 2:33) to beat the Pacers 120-118.

[wcsoldier]

Kobe has been very average to his standards in the Finals , the only outstanding games he had are

- 2000 : Game 4
- 2004 : Game 2
- 2008 : Game 3
- 2009  :Game 1
- 2010 : Game 5 (his best )

[wcsoldier]

by the way not having MJ 55 pts in the top 10 is a total fail ... I did not remember MJ was 15-18 from the field in 91 , WTF 

[teecee]

by the way not having MJ 55 pts in the top 10 is a total fail ... I did not remember MJ was 15-18 from the field in 91 , WTF 

15 for 18 is some ridiculous shit



I think Kobe had a GREAT game last night; if they coulda got a few stops when on their run, it woulda been maybe his best finals game ever...