Great Recent Playoff Moments That Every Fan Remembers

While the regular season is fun and all, things get wild, wacky and straight-up insane once the postseason rolls around, with players and teams clinging to anything they can in order to survive and advance.

And since a loss in the playoffs could spell the end of the season, there have been some moments that have captivated us all and reminded us why we love sports so much.

From breakout performances to jaw-dropping plays, these are great playoff moments in recent sports history that every fan will remember forever.

The Obstruction Call That Ended a World Series Game (2013)

There are moments in sports where little-called rules should probably just be ignored—and one could argue that the obstruction call in Game 3 of the 2013 World Series was one of those times.

With the St. Louis Cardinals and Boston Red Sox tied at four apiece in the bottom of the ninth, St. Louis' Allen Craig got tangled up with Boston third baseman Will Middlebrooks, which threw Craig off balance and led to a tag out at home plate.

Just when extra innings were thought to settle the score, umpire Jim Joyce declared that Middlebrooks impeded Craig's progress to home plate, and the call awarded St. Louis the winning run and gave fans one of the most bizarre endings in Fall Classic history.

LeBron James' Buzzer-Beater Buries the Chicago Bulls (2015)

While tempted to just put in LeBron James' mind-blowing NBA Finals last season—where he averaged 35.8 points, 13.3 rebounds and 8.8 assists in doing anything he could to help his Cleveland Cavs compete for a title—James' team lost to the Golden State Warriors, so this game-winning shot in the second round versus the Chicago Bulls gets the nod.

Most of us know the story by now, but here's a recap.

With the Cavs out of timeouts and the score tied late in the fourth quarter, then-Cleveland head coach David Blatt nearly cost his team the game by asking for a timeout—which wasn't granted thanks to the refs not seeing it.

That proved to be just enough for James' heroics.

With Chicago leading the series and on the brink of stretching the lead to 3-1, James hit a deep jumper right in front of the Bulls bench as time expired. The game-winner gave Cleveland momentum the rest of the series—which propelled them to the aforementioned NBA Finals.

Joe Flacco's 'Mile High Miracle' to Jacoby Jones (2012)

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More than just the aptly coined "Mile High Miracle," it's what the Baltimore Ravens did following the miraculous play that earns them a memorable spot on this list—you know, since they won the Super Bowl a few games later and all.

Trailing the Denver Broncos by a touchdown with under a minute to play in regulation, Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco heaved a prayer to wideout Jacoby Jones, who hauled in the pass and scored a 70-yard touchdown, shocking everyone watching the game.

Eventually going to double overtime, the game ended on a Baltimore field goal and kept the Ravens' title hopes alive while ripping the hearts out of Broncos fans everywhere.

With such a crazy ending, it's no wonder Sports Illustrated had the game on its list of the most clutch moments in NFL playoff history.

The Houston Rockets Come All the Way Back (2015)

One of the most shocking moments in NBA playoff history came in last year's Game 6 of the Western Conference Semifinals between the Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Clippers—and it involved one crazy comeback that no one could foresee coming.

As the Clips led by 19 points in the second half and held a 92-79 lead heading into the fourth quarter, the Rockets caught fire and stunned Los Angeles to force a Game 7.

Outscoring the Clippers 40-15 in the final period—led by an absurd performance by its bench—Houston avoided elimination and literally stole this game right from underneath Los Angeles' nose, and the Rockets eventually took Game 7, too, and provided one of the most epic performances in league history.

Mario Manningham Toes the Sideline for Unreal Super Bowl Catch (2012)

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

We all remember the absurd catch that New York Giants wideout David Tyree made in Super Bowl XLII against the New England Patriots when he pinned the ball against his helmet, but the one that fellow receiver Mario Manningham made a few years later against the Pats was just as memorable.

With the G-Men on their own 12-yard line with 3:46 left and trailing by two, New York quarterback Eli Manning lofted a pass down the sideline toward Manningham that looked as if it was going to fall incomplete or sail out of bounds.

Somehow, though, the receiver hauled in the pass by tip-toeing the line for a 38-yard gainer, which sparked the Giants' winning drive and second Super Bowl title in four years.

Los Angeles Kings Overcome 3-0 Deficit and Go on to Win Stanley Cup (2014)

It may not have come in the Stanley Cup Final and "just" occurred during the first round of the playoffs, but the incredible comeback from a 3-0 series deficit by the Los Angeles Kings to beat the San Jose Sharks is still unbelievable.

With the victory, the Kings became just the fourth team in NHL playoff history to accomplish the feat and win four straight after falling behind in the first three games of the series. More impressively, the Kings won their next two series—both going seven games each—before hoisting the Stanley Cup the same postseason.

The title was the Kings' second in three seasons, and it was one that many wouldn't have believed would happen after seeing how the team struggled in those three games to start its postseason play.

Kris Jenkins Hits the Game-Winner for Villanova (2016)

The reason we all refer to the NCAA tournament as March Madness is because of moments like this—and I'm not sure we're recovered from it.

Just when North Carolina fans believed they were destined for a national title after Marcus Paige's double-clutch three-pointer dropped, Villanova's Kris Jenkins made sure it was his team that left as champions of college basketball.

Receiving a pass with 1.2 seconds left, Jenkins buried a three-pointer for the ages as time expired, making every single viewer's jaw drop to the ground.

It really is one of the best college hoops national championship games in a long, long time.

Madison Bumgarner's Inhuman World Series (2014)

There have been some mind-blowing moments in MLB playoff history, but there might not be a more dominant player in a single World Series than San Francisco Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner in the 2014 Fall Classic against the Kansas City Royals.

Helping his team win its third title in five seasons, Bumgarner was brilliant—not only coming on in relief during Game 7 to pitch five innings of two-hit baseball, but how he threw the entire playoffs up to that point.

Like a machine, the burly lefty recorded 52.2 innings—a playoff record—and upped his World Series record to 4-0 with an absurd 0.25 ERA during that span.

It seems as if Bumgarner was meant to pitch in October, doesn't it?

Chicago Blackhawks Score Goals 17 Seconds Apart for Stanley Cup Win (2013)

Seventeen seconds.

That's all the time it took for the Chicago Blackhawks to rip the hearts out of the Boston Bruins and their fans during the 2013 Stanley Cup Final, and the Hawks won their second title in four seasons.

In one of the most unforgettable endings ever, Chicago overcame a 2-1 deficit by netting two goals just 17 seconds apart late in the third period. The late barrage stunned the Boston crowd and prevented a Game 7, and the Blackhawks hoisted Lord Stanley's Cup after a 4-2 series win.

Moments like this seem more apt for a Hollywood movie, yet here it was happening in real life to stun the sports world.

Texas Rangers-Toronto Blue Jays Have One Crazy Inning (2015)

There might not be a more shocking playoff game in MLB history than Game 5 of last year's ALDS between the Toronto Blue Jays and Texas Rangers, as it really did have some of the most bizarre events ever take place.

Seriously, not even the baseball gods could explain how wild this game was, and it all went down in the seventh inning.

First it was a deflected ball off a bat while the catcher was trying to throw it back to the pitcher, which led to a bizarre Rangers run and instant controversy—and Jays fans tossing beers onto the field after the umpires upheld the play.

And just when you thought the ridiculousness was over, a brawl nearly broke out following the Blue Jays' Jose Bautista's home run in the bottom half of the inning, where he celebrated with a ruthless bat flip for the ages.

This game had everything that couldn't be written, and it involved wild things that will, quite possibly, never again be witnessed by baseball fans.

Malcolm Butler's Super Bowl Interception (2015)

It was easily the most shocking ending in Super Bowl history. When New England Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler intercepted a Russell Wilson pass to literally steal the Lombardi Trophy from the Seattle Seahawks, he put his name in NFL lore.

Standing just three feet away from a potential game-winning score, the Seahawks tried to get cute and opted to pass the ball rather than hand it off to their bullish running back, Marshawn "Beast Mode" Lynch.

It cost them.

As time ticked from 23 seconds down, Butler cut off a Seattle receiver to intercept the pass and clinch the fourth Super Bowl victory in the Bill Belichick-Tom Brady era. It also prevented the Seahawks from becoming the first back-to-back champs since the Pats did it in the early 2000s.

Due to the horrific outcome, the pass call by Seattle is considered to be one of the dumbest plays in sports history, as it ended the game in a way that no one in the world could have imagined.

Ray Allen's Game-Tying Three in the NBA Finals (2013)

I've seen a lot of sports in my 31-plus years, but the one moment that will forever stick in my memory was the finish in Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs.

With the Spurs on the brink of closing out the series, the team choked at the worst possible time, turning the ball over and missing critical free throws in the waning moments, which allowed the Heat's Ray Allen to bury a three-pointer in the closing seconds to tie the game and keep the series alive.

Allen's shot is, without a doubt, one of the most dramatic shots in league history. It brought new life to the Heat by sending the game to overtime, where they won to force a Game 7. They eventually took home the title.

How unexpected was the shot? Ask Miami fans, because a lot of them had already filed out of the arena after thinking the game was already over.

As finely tuned as the Spurs have always seemed to be, the team shot itself in the foot during Game 6 and allowed Miami to pull off a miracle comeback that stunned everyone in the process.