Six years ago today, Ray Allen hit one of the most iconic shots in NBA Finals history. On the brink of elimination while trailing the San Antonio Spurs 95-92 in the waning seconds of Game 6, Chris Bosh collected a LeBron James rebound and kicked it out to a back-pedaling Allen in the right corner. It was at that moment the Hall-of-Fame shooting guard drilled a triple to tie the score with five seconds remaining. Miami would eventually outlast San Antonio in overtime before going on to secure its second-straight title. But what’s been lost over the years amidst the celebration of Allen’s heroics is just how incredible LeBron was throughout this historic contest.
James scored 12 of his game-high 32 points during the fourth quarter of Game 6 after removing his headband on his way to one of the 10 triple-doubles he’s notched during an NBA Finals game. In doing so, he helped erase the 10-point lead that Tim Duncan, Kawhi Leonard and Tony Parker built heading into the final period. Along with his prolific performance from a scoring standpoint, LeBron also dished out a game-high 11 assists to go along with 10 rebounds. The next highest assist-man on the night was Parker with eight for the Spurs and only Duncan had more rebounds (17). James would also add a block on Timmy late in the fourth quarter that proved critical.
“It’s by far the best game I’ve ever been a part of,” James told the Associated Press after the game. “We seen the championship board already out there, the yellow tape. And you know, that’s why you play the game to the final buzzer. And that’s what we did tonight. We gave it everything that we had and more.”
There are only 12 players in NBA history with at least one triple-double during the NBA Finals. The 10 triple-doubles that James has totaled throughout his trips to the Finals are the most in NBA history and two more than Magic Johnson who is the next highest on the list with eight. Draymond Green is the next highest active NBA player with three triple-doubles during the NBA Finals.
