The 10 Craziest NBA Finishes So Far

The Chicago Bulls and the Los Angeles Lakers faced off in one of the first games of the season. It was a thrilling finish in the end, and it was one of the 10 most exciting matchups in 2012. 

People say the regular season doesn't matter. Well, that's a bit an overstatement. If that was true you wouldn't see these guys fighting so hard for wins that "don't matter." That's what makes the NBA regular season so exciting. 

There have been more than a few genuinely exciting games this year. Here are the 10 best of the season so far. 

Utah Jazz over Golden State Warriors

Not all great games include great teams. Sometimes you just have a great game between two teams that comes out of nowhere. They aren't playing in front of a a national TV audience, and they aren't debated on First Take before or after the game. 

That doesn't mean that the game can't be exciting. The Utah Jazz vs. Golden State Warriors game two days ago was the perfect example.

In a game which had Utah repeatedly catch the Warriors in the fourth quarter only to have Golden State pull away each time, Gordon Hayward took matters into his own hands with 11 seconds left, drawing a foul and then sinking both his free throws to put the Jazz ahead. 

Then, with Monta Ellis taking the game-winning attempt, Raja Bell's suffocating defense shut him down and the Jazz pulled out their come-from-behind win in a game which saw them trail by as many as 12 points. 

New Orleans Hornets over Phoenix Suns

Eric Gordon made the game-winning shot on the "other side" of the trade of the summer. With just 4.3 seconds left in the game and the Hornets trailing the Phoenix Suns on the road, Gordon calmly drained a 20-foot jumper to win the game. 

Over the last seven minutes of the game, the Hornets had closed to within one point of the Suns seven different times, only to see the Phoenix rebuild their lead. 

When Gordon finally put the Hornets ahead, it was the first time they had the lead since the eight-minute mark of the third quarter. This really was a case of a team being rewarded for not giving up, and it was a truly exciting finish.

Los Angeles Lakers over Denver Nuggets

Andrew Bynum returned from a four-game suspension to start the season and played brilliantly, scoring 29 points and grabbing 13 boards. 

That was enough to keep the Lakers in the game. The Lakers took a 91-89 lead with 1:58 on the clock and then watched as the Nuggets repeatedly failed to close that narrow margin. 

First Pau Gasol blocked Ty Lawson's layup and then Lawson missed a pair of free throws. On their next series, Al Harrington and Danilo Gallinari missed a pair of three-pointers and Gallinari missed a layup. Finally, Harrington missed another shot from three-point range

Through all of that ineptitude, the Lakers managed to post a single point themselves with one second left. 

A two-point lead that doesn't change scores for 1:57 might not be pretty, but it is thrilling. 

Miami Heat over Minnesota Timberwolves

It was Ricky Rubio's coming out party. Rubio had 12 points, 12 assists and six boards in leading the Timberwolves to coming oh so very close to a comeback win against the vaunted Miami Heat. 

In the words of Maxwell Smart, "Missed it by that much!"

In the end Dwyane Wade got the game-winning shot for the second consecutive game. It was still a thrilling finish, and a great game to see established stars exorcise demons and fresh stars break out. 

Chicago Bulls over Atlanta Hawks

Through the first 34 minutes of the game, the Chicago Bulls scored just 37 points and were on track to setting a record franchise low in points scored. 

Then, in the words of Al Horford, Derrick Rose happened. 

He scored or assisted on 28 of the Bulls' 39 points, leading Chicago to a comeback win despite trailing by as much as 17 points in the fourth quarter. 

He put the Bulls ahead with nine seconds left, but the game wasn't over. 

The Hawks came down the court and Al Horford drew a foul off of Luol Deng and then split the free throws. 

Deng, in an act of redemption, hit the game-winning shot with three seconds left, then defended Joe Johnson who missed on his three-point attempt that would have won the game. 

Los Angeles Clippers over Miami Heat

In last night's game against the Clippers, it repeatedly looked like the fates were going to give the game to Los Angeles, as the Heat twice got the benefit of a close out-of-bounds play, and twice LeBron James went to the line for a pair of free throws. 

Unfortunately for the Heat, it was also twice that he split the free throws. 

The Clippers managed to put the game into overtime and then held the Heat without a field goal until the 1:24 mark. Mario Chalmers' three pointer was all the Heat could manage in OT.

Chicago Bulls over Los Angeles Lakers

On Christmas Day, the Bulls and Lakers squared off in one of the most exciting games of the season.

Derrick Rose and Kobe Bryant, two of the fiercest competitors on the planet, had their teams battling back and forth through the duration of the game. 

Both teams had moments where they looked like they could pull away. Chicago led by as many as eight and the Lakers led by as many as 11. Yet whenever one team started to pull away, the other competitor willed his team back into the game. 

Finally, in the closing seconds it appropriately came down to Rose and Bryant and Rose made the first game-winning shot of his career. 

New York Knicks over Boston Celtics

The first game of the NBA season was one of the best. Playing without Paul Pierce in Madison Square Garden, the Celtics were giving everything they had. 

Carmelo Anthony had a huge effort in the fourth quarter and the New York Knicks came back from a 10-point fourth quarter deficit to beat the Boston Celtics at long last. 

Rajon Rondo had a huge effort for the Celtics scoring 31 points and dishing 13 assists in the losing cause. 

This game had all the hallmarks of a great game: superstar performances, comeback wins and the game-winning shot by Anthony. 

Miami Heat over Atlanta Hawks

Playing without either LeBron James or Dwyane Wade, the Miami Heat were led by the most disrespected of the Big Three (Chris Bosh) and the oft critiqued Mario Chalmers. Along with a bunch of other guys, they went toe to toe with the team that had beaten them earlier in the season when they had both their stars healthy. 

The Heat came back to tie the game and sent it into overtime on a three-point buzzer beater by Chris Bosh. Then they held off an Atlanta rally to send it into a second overtime. Then Chalmers nailed a pair of free throws to send it into a third overtime. 

Finally, they were able to get a bit of separation and win the game by seven, but the game was one of the most exciting, and gutsiest, of the year. 

Oklahoma City Thunder over Dallas Mavericks

The most exciting game of the season so far has to be the matchup between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Dallas Mavericks. 

It was thrilling enough when the Dallas Mavericks stormed back and took a two-point lead with just over a second left in the game for what looked like an improbable comeback.

In a game of "Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better," Durant came back and made a three-pointer of his own as the buzzer sounded. 

It was the first time in almost three years where there were two go-ahead three-pointers in the final three seconds of the game.