Months after finals, Heat’s Allen still living up ‘The Shot’

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Ray AllenBack in June, San Antonio Spurs fans felt the highest of highs quickly followed by the lowest of lows.

It was as if Dickens had traveled into the future to write the opening paragraph of "A Tale of Two Cities" based on a span of about five seconds in Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals.

With seconds left in what seemed like a Finals-clinching win for the Spurs with security getting ready to rope off the floor of the American Airlines Arena in anticipation of a championship celebration, Ray Allen did what he has done his entire career, hit a big shot, which eventually forced overtime and Game 7.

We all know how that story ended. Reruns of that moment and even awarding the Finals series with an ESPY has done nothing but rub salt in the open wounds of the Spurs faithful.

But while it's been the worst of times for Spurs fans, it's obviously been the best of times for Allen, according to a NewsOK.com post.

"You can never smite glory," Allen said. "It's something that you always will be associated with when you're winning."

"It doesn't matter where I went, where I've gone, what city or state I was in, it's all people could talk about," Allen said.

Whereas that small moment in time is continually celebrated by Allen and his Heat teammates, it's been a bitter pill to swallow for Spurs players and fans, although it does seem to be serving as motivation heading into next season.

With training camp right around the corner and several players sounding off on their eagerness to get back on the court, it is certainly looking a lot more like the epoch of belief and the spring of hope around here, even in fall.