Tony Parker was a star for the San Antonio Spurs in their 92-88 win over the Miami Heat in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday, and he made a controversial, clutch shot in the final seconds of the game.
The Heat had closed the gap and made it a two-point game in the final 30 seconds after LeBron James made two free throws. San Antonio got the ball for the next possession and Parker was absolutely harassed by Miami. He kept dribbling and dribbling and everywhere he looked he and his teammates were covered by Heat players. With the shot clock ticking down, Parker jumped off his pivot foot and threw in a bank shot. The basket gave San Antonio a 92-88 lead with 5 seconds left, essentially icing the game.
But did he get the shot off in time? This freeze frame from ABC shows that he did:
The ball was definitely out of Parker’s hand before the shot clock buzzer went off.
Parker finished with 21 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter. He also had six assists. Miami should have taken Mario Chalmers out of the game and put LeBron James on Parker once it was clear ‘Rio couldn’t stop the Spurs point guard late in the game.
The Spurs said after the game that they expect to see LeBron on Parker more in the next game.
