Unexpected NBA playoff heroes

Horry played the hero so often it became almost not surprising. Still, we’re talking about a guy who averaged 7.0 points per game in his career. However, when you play for seven NBA title teams, it helps you earn the nickname “Big Shot Bob” when you are on the money when the time comes. Perhaps his greatest moment came in Game 5 of the 2005 NBA Finals, when his last-second three-pointer gave the Spurs a much-needed win.

The Pistons of the 2000s were known for their star-free starting five who worked as a unit, but Prince was always at the bottom of that egalitarian totem pole anyway. However, they don’t win the title in 2004 without him — not just because of his defense on Kobe in the NBA Finals. If you are a Detroit basketball fan, you remember his block that won Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals over the Indiana Pacers.

Diaw was always a nice complementary piece for a team thanks to his size and passing skills, but he was rarely relied on to provide a ton of offense. That didn’t stop him from stepping up in Game 7 of the 2014 Western Conference Finals though. The Frenchman known for his love of coffee dropped a team-high 26 points on the Thunder for the Spurs, and San Antonio made another trip to the NBA Finals.

For almost his entire career, James was a mediocre player with unremarkable numbers. That includes after he signed a big contract with the New York Knicks in 2005. Why did he get that deal though? Because he was dominant in the first round of the 2005 NBA playoffs for the Sonics. He averaged 17 points, nine boards and two blocks over six games to help Seattle upset Sacramento.

This is one of the most inexplicable points explosions ever. Floyd was a solid player but nothing special. So when he dropped 51 points on the Lakers in 1987, jaws were dropped. He even set new records for points in a half (39) and quarter (29).

Fisher has five rings to his name, although he mostly owes that to playing alongside Shaq and Kobe, mostly Kobe, with the Lakers. However, on at least one occasion he had to come up huge. The Los Angeles and San Antonio series was all tied up 2-2 heading into a pivotal Game 5 in the 2004 playoffs. The Lakers were down a point with four-tenths of a second left in the game. No chance of winning right? Tell that to Fisher, who had the game-winning shot.

When you think of the Chicago Bulls, you think of Michael Jordan. Then you think of Scottie Pippen. Paxson scored only eight points in Game 6 of the 1993 NBA Finals. That includes a three in the final seconds of the game that clinched the Bulls their third title. Sometimes all it takes is one shot to become a legend.

How much would you like the defining moment of your career to be known as the “Kiss of Death?” Only Elie is lucky enough to know how that feels. He was a bench guy who had an unremarkable career. In Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals, Elie hit a huge three at the end of the game to help the Rockets take down the Suns. Houston completed a 3-1 series comeback and would go on to win the title.

When the 1979-80 NBA season began, Bates was playing for the Maine Lumberjacks. They are not an NBA team, for the record. The Trail Blazers signed him late in the season to serve as a warm body. He was much more than that in the playoffs against the SuperSonics. The dude dropped 29 points in his playoff debut, and in Game 2 he scored 20 points, including a shot that sent the game into overtime and six more points in the extra period.

Kukoc is a slightly bigger name than some on this list, but he was still always, at best, third fiddle for the Bulls. You expect Jordan to be the hero. In the 1998 NBA Finals though, Jordan’s final title-winning team, Kukoc came up huge with a 31-point game. The sweet-shooting European went 11-of-13 from the field, making it even more impressive.

Johnson was known as “The Microwave” because he would come off the bench, heat up quickly and provide key points. His greatest moment came in the 1990 NBA Finals. Johnson scored 14 of his 16 points for the Pistons in the fourth quarter, including the game-winning jumper. That shot made Detroit back-to-back champions.

With the Suns, Marion was one of the guys. Him being the hero wouldn’t be a surprise. By 2011, though, he was in his 30s, and he had lost some of the spring in his step. That season for the Mavericks he averaged 12.5 points mostly coming off the bench, and that was Dirk Nowitzki’s team. Then in the NBA Finals, the Matrix averaged 14 points per game against the Miami Heat, and he also played hounding defense on LeBron. Marion may have been the key to Dallas winning the franchise’s only title.

Here’s a fresh one from last season’s playoffs. We were introduced to “Scary Terry” Rozier in full throat. Also, Drew Bledsoe got involved a bit, which was weird. In Game 7 of the first round, Rozier notched 26 points in a series-clinching win over the Bucks, and then in Game 1 of the next round he tallied 29 points in another victory.

Here’s another Celtic, although his heroics were really limited to one game. Game 2 of the 2008 NBA Finals is known colloquially as the “Leon Powe Game,” at least among Boston fans and perhaps bitter Lakers fans. He exploded out of nowhere to tally 21 points on 6-of-7 shooting. He would never muster anything as big as that, but having a night of that caliber in the NBA Finals can live on forever.

Elliott is mostly known as a homer announcer now, but had he been calling his own performance in the 1999 Western Conference Finals his hyperbole would have been justified. His crazy game-winning shot at the end of Game 2 has become known as the Memorial Day Miracle. It was more than just one shot, though, as he had 22 points in that game.

Robinson is mostly remembered for his dunk contest wins, but he played in actual basketball games as well! Perhaps his most remarkable performance came when he tallied 34 points in a 2013 game for the Bulls. Twenty-nine of those points came in the fourth quarter and overtime, so clearly he saved the best for last.

Miller was a great shooter, but he was really banged up in the 2012 NBA playoffs. Nobody was expecting him to contribute much to the Heat, especially with LeBron, Wade and Bosh leading the way. He failed to make a single three-point shot in the first four games of the NBA Finals, but then in Game 5 he hit seven of his eight threes to lead the Heat to the win.

Well, if we have Nate Robinson, we have to have Big Baby Davis too. Boston was without Kevin Garnett, which seemed like a death knell. Davis, for at least one night, was able to step up big in the 2009 playoffs. He scored 21 points against Dwight Howard and the Magic to get the Celtics a win to tie the series 2-2.

Chapman was a solid rotation player, as he averaged a little over 14 points per contest in his career. Most importantly, he came up with a miraculous shot in the 1997 Western Conference Semifinals. He may have been basically heaving up a prayer, but it went in, and the Suns got the win over the Sonics.

Johnson was once the Sixth Man of the Year, but that was in 1989. In 1997 he was 38 years old and basically at the end of his career, but he was the embodiment of veteran presence. He still managed to hit a game-winner in the Western Conference Finals for the Rockets.

If you are under a certain age, you think of The Jet only as the guy who is on TV with Chuck and Shaq. He had a good career on the court, though, including playing for two title-winning teams in Houston. While Game 1 of the 1995 NBA Finals will always be remembered for Nick Anderson missing three free throws, without Smith’s seven made three-pointers, the Rockets would have never been in the position to win that game.

Kerr has done amazing things as a coach, but he had his moments as a player as well. He averaged only six points per game in his career, but he knew how to hit a shot when called upon. So when Jordan got double teamed in Game 6 of the 1997 NBA Finals, he gave the ball up to Kerr, who made the most of his moment in the sun.

Scalabrine is mostly known as a cult hero, and joke fodder, due in part to the fact he averaged three points per contest over 520 games of his career. He was often glued to the end of the bench. In a crazy triple-overtime playoff game against the Pistons, though, Scalabrine came up with 17 points to give the Nets a big win on the road.

When defense is your calling card, you often get overlooked. Such was the nature of Bowen’s career. He doesn’t have the signature moment of some of the players on this list, but he came up huge in the playoffs many times, especially when he had to shut players down. Many minds will likely go to the 2007 NBA playoffs, though, when he made 44.6 percent of his threes while also notching four assists and a steal per game. Plus, he helped keep LeBron in check in the NBA Finals.

Dellavedova is not unlike Bowen in that he is a “gritty” player who occasionally plays dirty defense but is the kind of role player who helps teams in the playoffs. That was especially true in the 2015 NBA Finals. With Kyrie Irving out, the Cavs needed Delly to step up against the Warriors. He certainly did that, including in a Game 3 performance that saw him score 20 points.