He Makes Miracles Happen - Bryant's Unforgettable Shot

By Jason Pecheck

Friday, December 4th, showcased a premiere match up between two perennial all-stars in Kobe Bryant and Dwayne Wade. Wade's Miami Heat and Bryant's Los Angeles Lakers squared off in Staples Center, a game that will be remembered by Lakers fans for a long time. It would only be fitting that this game would go down to the final seconds with the final shot involving both superstars. With six minutes left in the game the Lakers held a nine point lead and seemingly had the Heat on the ropes. With five minutes left, Lamar Odom and Jermaine O'neal had an altercation after Oneal's dunk which led to Odom's second technical foul and ejection. This only foreshadowed the fireworks to come. With under a minute to go the Lakers had watched their lead vanish with an unreal fourth quarter by Dwayne Wade. With the Heat up 106-102 it was all but over - not for the Lakers. With under five seconds on the clock, Derek Fisher hits a clutch three pointer to cut the lead to one. The Lakers now, needing to foul, put Wade on the free throw line. Dwayne Wade fails to cash in on one of his two free-throws, ultimately setting the stage for the heroics of Bryant. Out of the timeout, Bryant catches the inbound pass almost 40 feet from the basket and with a running, one-footed, thirty foot heave over the outstretched hand of Wade, drains the game-winning shot off the backboard. A shot he would later call "probably the luckiest shot of my career" and a shot that will only add to the remarkable and magical legacy of Kobe Bryant.

Truly, one of the greatest of all time.