2. 2003 – L.A. Lakers 105 Dallas 103
It was 88-61 entering the fourth quarter and I had already given up on seeing a good game. We were in Florida. I was on vacation. We were in a restaurant. Dinner. The game was on a TV just a few feet away, and it was a good enough view to watch the Lakers hit 16 out of 18 shots from the field during their comeback. After Kobe Bryant (21 points in the fourth) hitting a spinning J in the lane with eight seconds left and the Mavs failed to convert on their last opportunity, it became the greatest comeback from a halftime deficit in NBA history, made even more special because Dallas was 17-1 at the time.

As Mike Tirico observed on air: “All is right in the land of the champs.” Maybe for that one night; this game was only a sample of the up-n-down season L.A. had. They were eventually destroyed in a second round Game 6 at home against San Antonio, ending a shot at a four-peat.