Number 3: Derrick Rose’s Buzzer Beater Against the Cleveland Cavaliers
May 9, 2015, Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Playoffs Semifinals
Chicago Bulls: 99
Cleveland Cavaliers: 96
The Situation:
A loaded Chicago Bulls team faced a familiar foe in the 2015 playoffs. Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers entered their semifinal matchup with the Chicago Bulls without Kevin Love who injured himself in the first round series against the Boston Celtics. Regardless, the series went back to Chicago for Game 3 tied at one apiece. Psychologically, a Game 3 victory should have been huge for this Chicago Bulls team. In their two previous series against a Lebron James-led opponent, they had won Game 1 only to lose four straight after that. The Bulls won Game 1 in Cleveland only to drop the next game, so the stars looked like they would align in much the same way as they had in previous years. Derrick Rose made sure this wouldn’t happen.
The Game:
A hotly contested game ended like a perfectly scripted Hollywood movie. Cleveland forward J.R. Smith tied the game at 96 apiece with 10.8 seconds remaining in the game. The Chicago Bulls had one more opportunity to make sure the game wouldn’t go into overtime. With three seconds remaining on the clock, Bulls forward Mike Dunleavy Jr. passed the ball into Derrick Rose who dribbled to his right outside the 3-point arc and past the top of the key before attempting a 3-point shot over Cavaliers big man Tristan Thompson. The ball banked off the backboard and dropped in, giving the Chicago Bulls a 99-96 victory at the buzzer against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Quotable:
Derrick Rose on his game-winner.
"I’m just thankful and grateful that my teammates gave me the ball. They believed in me down the stretch. They kept getting me the ball, kept encouraging me to play the way that I usually play. And no, I did not call glass. –Quote obtained by the Associated Press; Content printed on ESPN.com"
After all that Derrick Rose went through with his injuries, it was fantastic to see him hit a game-winner on that stage in his hometown. The journey he took to get to that moment as well as the magnitude of that shot made this game memorable.
Next: The Game that Chicago Accepted Joakim Noah