Best games of 2015

This early-season game between these two East Coast rivals didn't end until 2:13 a.m. ET after Garrett Jones hit into a double play in the 19th inning to end another Yankees rally. At the end of the "night," Boston outlasted New York in a game that took over seven hours to complete. 

This game combined for a Cotton Bowl record 1,135 yards and 83 points. Down by 20 heading into the fourth quarter, Connor Cook led the Spartans to three touchdowns in the final stanza, including a 10-yard touchdown to Keith Mumphery with 17 seconds left to give Michigan State the 42-41 win.

Rivers put up single-game Chargers records with 43 completions and 65 attempts while throwing for over 500 yards in a 27-20 loss to the Packers at Lambeau Field. Breaking the single-game mark in those two categories is no small feat considering the Chargers' claim to fame thus far is the Air Coryell era and Dan Fouts some 30-plus years ago — an era that rang in the modern passing era around the NFL. That it came in a loss is what's even more stunning. 

The Shockers have been wanting to play Kansas for some time now. The Jayhawks, though, didn't want to face the possibility of losing against the in-state school. Bill Self and Co. didn't have a choice when Wichita State was placed in the same bracket with Kansas. After both teams handled their business in the first round, the No. 2-seeded Jayhawks, eyeing the larger prize of a national title, fell to Wichita State 78-65 in a game that might have seen Kansas overlook a three-loss Shockers team. 

This has Hollywood baseball movie written all over it. Two days after reports surfaced that he was headed to the Milwaukee Brewers, this New York Mets infielder hit a walk-off homer against the Washington Nationals. It was one of the most dramatic moments of the MLB season. Just 48 hours before, Flores was seen on the diamond at Citi Field sobbing about potentially leaving an organization he had been with for nine years. 

Dealing with a three-goal deficit early in the game and having to overcome another one-goal deficit in the final period, the Calgary Flames put up four third-period goals en route to 7-4 win over the Vancouver Canucks. This win enabled Calgary to move on to the Western Conference Semifinals, where it would eventually lose to the Anaheim Ducks in five games. 

A total of 101 points, 1,024 yards and 13 passing touchdowns between these two teams took place. It was back in November, and both teams were looking to overcome recent struggles in what ended up becoming a shootout. Drew Brees tied the single-game NFL record with seven touchdown passes. Meanwhile, Eli Manning recorded six in the losing effort. To the chagrin of those of us who were watching, the game ended on a ho-hum 50-yard field goal as time expired. 

After winning the first two games of this first-round playoff series at home, the Golden State Warriors ran into a juggernaut in Game 3 against the Pelicans in New Orleans. Trailing 89-69 after three quarters, the Warriors mounted an historical comeback to pull to within three in the final seconds. That's when Stephen Curry nailed a near impossible three from the left baseline while falling out of bounds to tie the game up. Golden State would end up outscoring New Orleans in overtime.  

After Duke had taken a 27-24 lead with just seconds left, all it had to do was cover the kick. What followed was one of the wackiest plays in history. A total of eight laterals from the Hurricanes led to Corn Elder making his way into the end zone for the last-second Canes' victory. Though, it didn't come without controversy. Replays show that a Miami player's knee was down prior to one of the laterals, which would have ended the game. There might have also been two blocks in the backs on the play. Yeah! 

This Washington Nationals pitcher put up one of the best single-game performances in the modern history of the game in what was his second no-no of the 2015 season. Scherzer struck out a whopping 17 while not walking a single batter in his final start of the year, a game that came against the eventual NL champion New York Mets. Overall, 80 of Scherzer's 109 pitches were strikes. The only blemish? A Yunel Escobar throwing error in the seventh. The 17 K's tied Nolan Ryan for the most by a pitcher in a no-hit effort.

Nebraska looked like it had its season opener won against a game BYU team. That is until BYU receiver Mitch Mathews pulled down a 42-yard Hail Mary from Tanner Mangum as time expired to give the Cougars an unbelievable 33-28 win. This set into motion a disastrous fist season for head coach Mike Riley in Lincoln. 

Paul Pierce was born with ice water in his veins. That's the only reasonable explanation for a game-winning bank shot as time expired in the playoffs this past spring. With Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semis coming down to the final moments, Pierce banked in a fade-away shot from just inside the three-point line as time expired to give Washington a 103-101 win. Following the game, Pierce proclaimed that he "called game" while taking the shot. The confidence of a champ coming through in droves here. 

It sure looked like NFL officiating took over the college game for one play back in early November. With Michigan State up 38-33 and less than 30 seconds left, Nebraska QB Tommy Armstrong hit Brandon Reilly on what looked to be a game-winning 30-yard touchdown. However, it appeared that Reilly stepped out of bounds prior to regaining his footing in play before making the catch. He wasn't forced out of bounds, as some Cornhursker fans might claim. Upon further review, the play stood as called — sending Nebraska to its best win in years. Luckily for Michigan State, this one play didn't result in missing out on a spot in the playoff. 

In its first regular-season loss in nearly three years, Florida State thought it had the game won against the Yellow Jackets. The best kicker in college football, Roberto Aguayo, was attempting a 56-yard game-winning field goal with the game tied at 16 and mere seconds left. Unfortunately for the Seminoles, the kick was blocked and returned by Tech defensive back Lance Austin 78 yards for a TD. Finishing the season 10-2, this could have cost Florida State a spot in the playoff. 

This wasn't as much a comeback as it was one of the biggest choke jobs in recent NBA history. With a 3-2 series lead in the Western Conference semis and a 19-point second-half lead at home, it looked like the Los Angeles Clippers were going to cruise to the conference finals. Then, Josh Smith and Corey Brewer happened. The two role players combined for 29 fourth-quarter points to help Houston stave off elimination. The Rockets would then go on to win the final two games, earning a spot in the conference finals. 

With his team down 2-1 in the Eastern Conference playoffs, LeBron James took it into his own hands (literally) in bringing his Cleveland Cavaliers back to tie the series at two. The scenario was as follows: With the game tied and just 1.5 seconds left, James caught a Matthew Dellavedova inbounds pass, rose above Jimmy Butler and nailed a deep two-pointer from the left baseline to give Cleveland an 86-84 win. Cleveland wouldn't lose another game in its run to the NBA Finals, beating Chicago in the next two to close out that series before sweeping Atlanta in the Eastern Conference Finals. 

With a perfect 38-0 record and an opportunity to etch its name in the history books as one of the greatest teams ever, Kentucky headed into the Final Four as odds-on favorites to win the title. Unfortunately, that came crashing to a halt against Wisconsin in the national semifinals. Behind the tremendous play of National Play of the Year Frank Kaminsky, Wisconsin pulled off a stunning 71-64  upset to send Kentucky packing with its first and only loss of the season. 

Long before blowing a 3-1 series lead later in the playoffs, the Los Angeles Clippers took out the defending champions in grand fashion in the first round of the postseason. With Game 7 tied at 109, Chris Paul pulled up a few feet from the basket, saw Tim Duncan there ready to protect the rim and threw up a circus shot high off the backboard. The ball went in with one second left to give the Clippers an improbable win in the face of a ton of adversity. 

This seven-game series featured three overtime affairs, the first a dramatic triple-overtime win for the Chicago Blackhawks in Los Angeles. In the longest game in Blackhawks franchise history, Marcus Kruger scored the game-winning goal over 16 minutes into the third overtime. The teams combined for 118 shots on goal and 10 power play opportunities. Heck, there was a 110-minute span within the game that saw neither team score a goal. Amazing! 

With Jim Harbaugh's Wolverines set to become a top 10 team while holding a 23-21 lead with 10 seconds left, punter Blake O’Neill committed one of the most ridiculous blunders in recent history. Not only did he fumble the snap on the punt, but O'Neill attempted to pick the ball up and do something with it. The result? A 38-yard recovery for a touchdown by Michigan State defensive lineman Jalen Watts-Jackson to give Sparty an unimaginable 27-23 win in the Big House. 

In an instant classic between the Kansas City Royals and New York Mets, Eric Hosmer ended the game in the bottom of the 14th inning on a sacrifice fly that immediately proceeded a rare David Wright error just a few batters before. Kansas City earned the Game 1 win, eventually taking the series — a series that started on an inside-the-ballpark homer. 

Hand the ball off to Marshawn Lynch. I am pretty sure Pete Carroll and the Seattle Seahawks coaching staff have nightmares with those very same words embedded within them on a nightly basis. Down 28-24 with mere seconds remaining on the clock, Seattle had 2nd-and-goal from the Patriots' 1-yard line. Instead of handing to Lynch, the Seahawks decided to let Russell Wilson throw a slant to Ricardo Lockette. Unlikely Super Bowl hero Malcolm Butler jumped the route, coming down with the game-winning interception in the process. One of the most absurd play calls in Super Bowl history led to Seattle failing to repeat as champs. It also led to one of the greatest endings in Super Bowl history.