Most Dramatic Sports Moments of the Week

March Madness has been absolutely unbelievable, and it drives this article for the third consecutive week. 

It has been a particularly dramatic and exciting tournament, and the Final Four is just around the corner. The NBA and NHL also get some attention as their seasons come to a close, however, and provide even more drama for one of the best times of the year for sports.

Here are the most dramatic moments in sports over the past week.

Lakers and Sixers Need OT

These two teams are not good at all. In fact, they're both very bad. And neither of them are anywhere close to competing for a playoff spot. They also have no rivalry whatsoever.

But anyone who watched their matchup on Monday night would tell you that it was one of the best and most dramatic basketball games they have seen in a while.

Nerlens Noel put on a show with 19 points and 14 boards, but the two sides still needed overtime after 48 minutes of back-and-forth action.

For as good as Noel was, however, rookie Jordan Clarkson was the star of the night as he put up 26 points, including the game-winning bucket with a mere 0.7 seconds left in OT, for the Lakers.

Kentucky-Notre Dame Thriller

Notre Dame played in its own thriller in the Sweet 16 just to get the chance to face off against Kentucky, a team that had mostly cruised its way to an undefeated record in the 2014-15 season.

The Fighting Irish kept fighting all night and almost had enough to overcome John Calipari's squad.

But Karl-Anthony Towns and Aaron Harrison stepped up to the plate for Kentucky and held off Notre Dame's relentless attack.

The two teams went into halftime tied and were neck-and-neck for most of the game right down to the wire, when Andrew Harrison hit two free throws with six seconds left to seal the Final Fourth berth for Kentucky.

Curry Outduels Paul

Danny Moloshok/Associated Press

Steph Curry and Chris Paul are arguably the two best point guards in the NBA this season, and the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers are certainly two of the most exciting teams in the league.

That made their matchup on Tuesday night all the more tantalizing. It was Blake Griffin's 40 points, however, that really stole the show.

Yet despite Griffin's massive night and the Clippers' leading by as many as 17 points, Curry and Klay Thompson somehow found a way to shoot themselves back into the game and come out with a riveting 110-106 victory.

Michigan State-Louisville OT

Nobody ever discounts Tom Izzo and Michigan State in March, but even their biggest fans have to be somewhat surprised by their 2015 run.

Michigan State was struggling in the first half, with Louisville playing great defense and putting the Spartans behind 40-32 heading into halftime.

But Izzo's squad rallied and played stifling defense themselves, building their own small lead that eventually led to overtime, when the Spartans completely took over.

The intensity of the game was unbelievable, as both teams scrapped all night, but Michigan State hit a couple of big shots in the extra frame and controlled the final few minutes en route to a 76-70 victory.

Tuesday Night NHL Overtimes

On Tuesday night, an incredible three games went past regulation, treating fans across the continent to extra hockey and a ton of drama to boot.

The Columbus Blue Jackets got a much-needed two points to help their playoff standing against the New Jersey Devils, giving Columbus their seventh straight victory.

The Ottawa Senators and Detroit Red Wings went to a shootout in Detroit, and the Senators grabbed arguably their biggest victory of the year after tying it up with just over four minutes to play in regulation.

Finally, the Vancouver Canucks outlasted the Nashville Predators in a high-scoring affair that also needed a shootout to decide the winner.

Harden, Cousins Put on a Show

The actual outcome of Wednesday night's game between the Houston Rockets and Sacramento Kings wasn't all that important, but some special performances and a riveting ending turned it into one of the best games of the week.

DeMarcus Cousins had yet another triple-double for the Kings, with an unbelievable 24 points, 21 rebounds and 10 assists.

But James Harden put another exclamation on his case to be the league MVP with a career-high 51 points to help fend off a fourth-quarter push from Sacramento en route to a tight 115-111 victory.

Wisconsin Outlasts Arizona

Don't let the 85-78 final score fool you: This was one of the most thrilling games of the entire tournament.

Arizona took a small lead into halftime and seemed to have Wisconsin's well-rounded game plan figured out. But then Sam Dekker happened.

Dekker hit five three-pointers in the second half and seemed virtually unstoppable as he led Wisconsin back and put them out in front behind his 27 total points.

The Badgers managed to hold on, despite some furious comeback attempts by the Wildcats, and Frank Kaminsky and company buried Arizona for the second straight year to move on to the Final Four.

Crazy Finish for Warriors

If there is one NBA team that deserves having two games mentioned in this article, it's undoubtedly the Golden State Warriors, who have proved to be one of the most dynamic and exciting teams in recent memory this season.

They did it again on Thursday night in a game against the Phoenix Suns, which was mostly forgettable through the first three quarters of play.

But then late in the game, things really got interesting quickly. With roughly 30 seconds left to play, the Warriors got an incredible three offensive rebounds and four shots on one possession, and Steph Curry finally hit a go-ahead three pointer with just eight seconds on the clock.

The Suns, however, responded quickly and scored to put themselves back up by a point with just a few ticks left. Yet somehow, Harrison Barnes pushed his way toward the net and got a ridiculous floater to drop in with a mere 0.4 seconds remaining to give Golden State the win.