(EDITOR’S NOTE

: A series by Times News writer Rich Strack will recall his favorite moments in sports history. Throughout the upcoming weeks, Strack will offer his thoughts about different sports. The NBA is today’s topic)

By Rich Strack

tnsports@tnonline.com

In this difficult time, when the world is battling an epic health crisis, the matter of sports competition that brings so much recreational joy to millions of Americans has been rightfully postponed.

Every level from the professional and college ranks down to high school spring sports will have empty stadiums, ball fields, and running tracks for the foreseeable future.

If you’re a sports fan like me, sports may not be live for a while, but from many years of devotion to athletic competition, some of the greatest events continue to play on in my memory rewind.

So sit back and let me distract you from public concerns for just a moment with Part 7 of a series of the greatest games and events that will remain forever in my personal Hall of Fame. Today I give you the best NBA basketball games of my lifetime.

June 4, 1976

Phoenix Suns vs Boston Celtics

Called the “Greatest Game Ever Played,” Game 5 of the 1976 NBA Finals was filled with late-game heroics, three overtimes, several controversial calls and no calls, and a near-riot on the court.

With seconds left at the end of the first overtime and the game tied at 101-101, Paul Silas tried to call a timeout for the Celtics - who had no timeouts left. If acknowledged, it would have resulted in a technical foul and the Suns would have more than likely won the game. But the officials ignored Silas, and the timeout was never called.

With time running out in the second OT and the Celtics down by a point, John Havlicek scored what appeared to be the game-winning basket. Fans rushed onto the court and began to celebrate while the players headed to the locker room.

But the officials ruled there was still :01 left on the clock. A Boston fan attacked a referee, and security had difficulties clearing the floor from angry fans who were interfering with the rest of the contest.

Upon resuming the game, the Suns took an intentional technical foul by calling a timeout they didn’t have. The Celtics converted the one-shot technical to stretch their lead to two points, but the Suns now inbounded the ball at midcourt instead of on the baseline. Off the inbounds play, the Suns’ Gar Heard sank a jumper sending the game to a third overtime.

In the third overtime, Boston built a six-point lead. Once again, the Suns came surging back, pulling to within two at 128-126, but this time, they would fall short and Boston would take a wild Game 5.

June 18, 2013

San Antonio Spurs vs Miami Heat

After five games in the NBA finals, the Spurs held a 3-2 series lead and were 28 seconds away from winning the title in Game 6.

With the Heat trailing by double digits in the fourth quarter, LeBron James willed his team to a comeback. He scored 11 points in a 20-7 Heat run that narrowed the margin. With only only two minutes left, Miami had staged an incredible rally and had grabbed the lead.

But the Spurs weren’t finished. Behind Tony Parker, who sank a three-pointer and then converted a layup on consecutive plays, the Spurs regained the lead. They built their advantage to 94-89 with only 28 seconds left. NBA league officials began preparing for the Spurs’ trophy ceremony by cordoning off the floor with yellow tape.

On the next possession, LeBron launched a wildly off-target three that careened off the backboard into a crowd of four Spurs players, but the ball was tipped by Dwyane Wade before they could gather the rebound and almost assuredly secure the victory. The ball was grabbed by Mike Miller and returned to James, who shot it again, this time draining the clutch three. Down only two now, the Heat fouled Kawhi Leonard immediately, sending him to the line. He only made one free throw, making it a one-possession game.

Down 95-92, Miami came down the court and once again got the ball to James. His shot fell short but was rebounded by Chris Bosh, who then kicked the ball out to Ray Allen in the corner. Allen took a step back to ensure his feet were behind the arc and quickly released the game-tying triple. After a quick review of the shot, it was confirmed as a three, and the game progressed to overtime.

In overtime, James would score with less than two minutes remaining, putting Miami up 101-100. The Heat would prevent San Antonio from scoring again and won the game, 103-100. Miami then went on to win Game 7 for its second consecutive NBA title.

Nov. 9, 1989

Seattle Supersonics vs Milwaukee Bucks

The Seattle SuperSonics and Milwaukee Bucks played a game that went into five overtimes. It is the longest game since the implementation of the 24-second shot clock. Of the 73 minutes, Dale Ellis played 69, an NBA record still to this day. Ellis finished the game with 53 points on 46% shooting, including 3-for-7 from behind the three-point line. Xavier McDaniel played just one minute less than Ellis and finished the game with a double-double of 37 points and 13 rebounds.

In the fifth overtime, Milwaukee outscored the Sonics 17-16 to win the game, 155-154. But it was only because of a league rule - that was later changed because of this game - that there wasn’t a sixth overtime.

Milwaukee was leading by nine points with just 34 seconds remaining in the fifth overtime, but the Sonics fought back and had a three-point attempt at the buzzer to tie the game. The shot was missed, but a foul was called, allowing Seattle to make two meaningless free throws to close out the game.

It wasn’t until five years later that the NBA changed the rule that awarded three free throws to a player who was fouled while shooting a three-point shot.

Final thoughts

We would like to think that the players always decide which team wins and which team loses games, but that is not always true.

In the Celtics win over Phoenix, a missed technical foul call, and time clock controversy, combined to twice extend the game to extra overtime periods.

The three-point shot has drastically affected the scores and outcomes of games. Allen’s three-ball at the end of regulation allowed Miami the chance to win in OT, and if not for a rule that permitted only two free throws for a foul on a three-point shot foul, who knows how many OTs the Sonics and the Bucks would have played?

Drama in big game sports is often intensified by circumstances that neither coaches nor players can control, often causing controversy and outcry.

Yet, we continue to demand perfection with the operation of games played by imperfect athletes, and directed by imperfect officials.

In sports, we must always get it right, perhaps because in life, we can’t. The irony is obvious: When circumstances change an expected outcome of a game or gives us something we don’t want in life, there’s only one thing that we can say.

“It is what it is.”