Here is a thread to discuss classic games that you have seen with the Phoenix Suns involves. Though the Suns have not yet won a championship they have brought some of the more memorable games the NBA has ever seen. I'll start off with the obvious, Game 5 of the 1976 NBA Finals. You can feel free to discuss this certain game, ask questions about the game, or want to move on to another game feel free to do so. The 1976 NBA Finals was the debut of the Suns in the Finals. They barely made the playoffs, and they barely had a winning record that season. Game Five is regarded by many as the greatest game ever. The Celtics got off to a huge lead, somewhere in the twenty-point area I believe. Fans were going crazy, and it looked like the Celtics had things sewn up. Then the Suns decided to show up. Sparked by Paul Westphaul the Suns made an amazing comeback. The twenty-something point lead for the Celtics kept getting thinner and thinner until the Boston crowd were forced to realize that they actually had a game on their hands. The Suns actually took the lead with less than a minute, but Havlicek made a free-throw to send the game into overtime. Overtime is when the controversy started. Late in the first overtime Paul Silas tried to call a timeout with game tied. The Celitcs didn't have any timeouts and the Suns would have received a technical foul shot, but the ref didn't give the timeout to Silas and the game went on to the second overtime. The second overtime was possibly the greatest overtime period I have ever seen, whether it be on tape or live. The two teams just wouldn't give up. Basket after basket was scored until Havlicek game through again for the Celts in the clutch with a basket as time expired. Fans stormed the court, players were celebrating, but that soon came to a stop. The refs decided that there were still a couple ticks left on the clock. The Suns had to go full court, and get a basket to win the game. That's when the Suns' genius game through as Westphaul called a timeout they didn't have, Boston made a foul-shot to give them a two point lead, and most importantly, the Suns got the ball at half court. The ball was thrown into Gar Heard who made the best buzzer beater in my mind, a high arching turnaround shot that forced a THIRD overtime. By then, everyone was exhausted. Players were taking their time getting up after falling down and there was just an overall exhausted feeling to everyone on the court. A couple Suns players fouled out and the Celts started to take control, that is until Westphaul started to work his magic again. In the closing seconds the Suns found themselves down by two and applied full court pressure. The Celtics tried a cross-court pass that was nearly intercepted by Westphaul. It just came off the tips of fingers, and had he caught it he would've had way to make a layup and foced a fourth overtime. It wasn't meant to be for the Suns, though as the game ended in a 128-126 Celtics victory. I have the game taped from a three-hour special on ESPN Classic, and I still bring it out to watch every once in a while. Greatest game I've had the pleasure of seeing.
