It'll be hard to forget Miami's final fourth quarter possession in Game 6 of the NBA Finals — you know, the one where LeBron James clanked a 3-pointer on the right side of the rim, Chris Bosh chased down the errant rebound, and needled a pass to a backpedaling Ray Allen in the short right corner. This all happened in a span of four seconds. And, yes, Allen drained the long ball, knotting the game at 95 and Miami eventually clinched the game in overtime.
Yeah, that play.
Hall of Famer Rick Barry is a tad skeptical, however. Here's Barry's take on the iconic possession via 640 Sports in Miami.
“Everybody will probably hate me for saying this down there in Miami, but the bottom line of it is nobody made a big deal about the fact Ray Allen traveled on the shot he made to tie the game,” Barry said. “Ray did it so quickly, but he traveled. He had a pivot foot and he stepped back behind the line and he brought the foot that was his pivot foot back and took the shot, well I’m sorry but you can’t do that without dribbling the basketball.
“But anyway the San Antonio Spurs gave them every opportunity and they responded, talking about the Heat, and they were able to come away with the championship so credit to them for that.”
Bottom line: Allen made an incredible play — try backpedaling, catching a pass and staying in bounds. Oh, and try making the shot over the outstretched arms of 6'2" Tony Parker. Most people would be fortunate to make this shot once in a 100 tries.
It's a close call in retrospect, and expecting the referees to call the travel in real time isn't really fair. All we can do now is lock the door in our rooms, turn up the music and just cry because San Antonio coughed up an excellent chance at nabbing their fifth NBA title in the Tim Duncan era.
(h/t PBT)
