One of the greatest game-winners of all time was Houston Rockets center Ralph Sampson ‘s miracle buzzer-beater against the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 5 of the 1986 Western Conference Finals.
The score was tied with one second left on the clock, and it looked like a Celtics-Lakers showdown in the 1986 NBA Finals was inevitable. Sampson caught an inbounds pass and bounced in a turnaround jumper to beat the Lakers 114-112 at The Forum.
Heartbreaker
It was a shot that sent Rockets fans jumping for joy. After all, it was their second trip to the NBA Finals. With the twin towers of Sampson and Hakeem Olajuwon, they seemed to have a real chance of beating the powerhouse Celtics.
On the flip side of the coin, the Purple and Gold fateful were left on their knees in bitter defeat. Hollywood legend Jack Nicholson , the team’s number-one fan, had a front-row view of Sampson’s circus shot. The game-winner hurt so much that he left the arena right away…