NBA: Top 10 Clutch Defensive Plays Of All Time

2016 NBA Finals - Game Seven
LeBron James blocks Andre Iguodala in Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals

Defense wins championships, but great defensive plays almost never get recognition like the ones on offense. It's remarkable that apart from the top 4 on this list, many people may not even know about the other 6 plays ever taking place.

Here, we rank the top 10 late defensive plays ever made and as we are talking about big moments, these are all either in the Conference Finals or the NBA Finals.

#10 Tayshaun Prince chase-down block on Reggie Miller

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Perhaps one of the most under the radar plays of all time, Prince had the greatest late chase-down block in playoff history until he was upended by a certain someone higher up on this list.

The scene was Game 2 of the 2004 Eastern Conference Finals, with the Pistons down 1-0 in the series to the Pacers. They led 69-67 with 40 seconds left and had the ball, but the Pacers managed to steal the ball and a game-tying layup at the rim seemed a formality with the Pacers on the break. But with Reggie Miller trying to lay the ball in, there was a chance, slim nonetheless of it getting blocked and it was. Prince ran from the half-way line to get there in time to block the layup just before it hit the backboard.

The play sealed a vital win away from home for the Pistons who would eventually win the series in 6. They would go on to win the NBA championship against the heavily favored Los Angeles Lakers.

#9 Gerald Henderson picks off James Worthy

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The Lakers should have won the 1984 NBA Finals but they seemed content to collapse late in games and hand the title to the Celtics. Having won Game 1 in Boston, they had all the momentum and led late in Game 2. A win would have all but guaranteed the title for LA, with 3 home games left, but they messed up real bad.

The Lakers were up 113-111 with 18 seconds left but a floated pass from James Worthy was picked off by Henderson and he had an easy layup at the rim and tied it up. Magic Johnson then inexplicably let the clock run out without getting a shot up on the next play. The Celtics would go on to win it in OT. The Lakers would make more late-game blunders (which will pop up higher up on this list) and lose the series in 7 games.

#8 Jerry West's steal and winning layup

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The beginning of the greatest rivalry in NBA history. The Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers met in the 1962 NBA Finals, the first of six Finals encounters to come in the 60s.

In Game 3, with the series tied at one game apiece, the game was tied 115-115 with 3 seconds remaining as Boston prepared to inbound the ball. A Celtics win would help them regain home-court advantage as the Lakers won Game 2 in Boston, but West made a big play.

As Sam Jones inbounded the ball, West poked it and sped away to score the game-winning layup at the buzzer. The joy wouldn't last long, as the Celtics won game 4 and eventually the series 4-3. This West play was perhaps one of the few great late moments that the Lakers had against the Celtics back then, as they kept getting beaten by them in the Finals.

They would lose all 6 of the Finals and suffer late heartbreak in almost all of them.

#7 Robert Parish and M.L.Carr thwart the Lakers

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How badly did the Lakers botch the 1984 NBA Finals? They had a shot at winning both games in Boston to have a 2-0 lead, only to give away Game 2 and Game 4 at home was a disaster down the stretch.

With the game tied at 113-113 and 16 seconds remaining, the Lakers seemed set to take a 3-1 lead as they had the ball. But then, Robert Parish made a big play. Magic Johnson's pass to James Worthy was stolen by Parish with 5 seconds remaining and the game would go to Overtime.

In OT, Magic and Worthy combined to go 1-4 from the FT line in the last minute but the Lakers still had a chance down 3 with 10 seconds remaining. However, as Worthy inbounded the ball, M.L.Carr intercepted it and sealed the win with a dunk.

This series led to Magic being given the nickname "Tragic Johnson" for his late blunders including another in Game 7. With the Lakers down 3 in the last minute, he turned the ball over and the Lakers lost the game 111-102

#6 Horace Grant seals the title for the Bulls

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Game 6 of the 1993 NBA Finals is remembered for John Paxson's game-winner and the play that followed is often forgotten. The Bulls came into the game 3-2 up in the series over the Suns and it ended up going down to the wire.

The Bulls appeared to be in control, up 87-79 entering the 4th quarter but went scoreless for the first 6 minutes, letting the Suns back in it. Michael Jordan would be the only Bulls player to score for the next 5 minutes, after which Paxson hit that memorable 3 pointer to give the Bulls the lead.

Now, the Bulls led 99-98 with 3.9 seconds remaining but the Suns had the ball. Kevin Johnson managed to zip past Michael Jordan and looked set to hit a floater from the free throw line to send the series to a 7th game but he wasn't even able to get it off. He managed to create some separation from Horace Grant but it wasn't enough. Grant staggered backward and managed to block it from behind, sealing a 3rd straight title for the Bulls.

#5 Hakeem Olajuwon denies the Knicks a title

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A moment which to this day haunts Knicks fans. Oh, what might have been?

The Knicks led the Houston Rockets 3-2 in the 1994 NBA Finals and had a shot at winning the title late in Game 6. Hakeem "The Dream" Olajuwon made sure those dreams went up in a puff of smoke.

John Starks had torched the Rockets defense with 16 points in the 4th quarter and it seemed like he might single-handedly lead them to the title. With the Knicks down 84-86 and 5 seconds remaining, it was set up for Starks to drain the game-winner, but then disaster struck.

He seemed to have gained separation after a screen from Patrick Ewing and Olajuwon appeared to have lost his balance for a second but it didn't matter. Hakeem recovered on time and while it seemed like Starks got an open look from 3, Olajuwon managed to tip the ball just after the release, denying the Knicks the title. Olajuwon would then dominate in Game 7 as the Rockets won their 1st NBA title.

#4 "Havlicek stole the ball"

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One of the most memorable playoff moments in history which was coupled with an iconic Radio Broadcast. The Celtics led the 76ers 110-107 late in Game 7 of the 1965 Eastern Conference Finals. A Wilt Chamberlain dunk with 5 seconds left, cut the deficit to 1 but the Celtics had the ball and victory seemed inevitable, but then something unexpected happened. Bill Russell's inbounds pass hit a wire supporting the basket and was ruled out of bounds gifting possession back to Philly, setting up our #4 play.

As Hal Greer prepared to throw the inbounds pass, John Havlicek had his back towards Greer. As Greer attempted to pass it to Chet Walker, Havlicek instantly spun and tipped the pass away to Sam Jones and the Celtics barely hung on.

They would then go on to win their 7th straight title in the NBA Finals against the Lakers

#3 Larry Bird picks off the inbounds pass

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Larry Bird delivered many clutch performances during his time in the NBA and most of them were on offense but arguably his most memorable play came on Defense in the 1987 Eastern Conference Finals.

With the series tied at 2-2, The Celtics trailed 106-107 with 17 seconds left. Bird's potential game-winner was blocked with 5 seconds remaining and the Pistons retained the ball leading to celebrations on the bench. The Celtics now potentially faced the daunting prospect of staving off elimination in game 6 in Detroit, but Bird made a big play.

Isiah Thomas attempted to inbound the ball and threw it towards Bill Laimbeer but Bird quickly leaped in front of Laimbeer to steal it and passed it off to Dennis Johnson who converted an easy layup with a second remaining. The Pistons couldn't respond as Boston stole game 5 en route to winning the series 4-3. The win at home was vital as neither team was able to win on the road in that series.

The jubilation of the play wasn't to last long, as a hobbled Celtics squad was no match for the Lakers in the NBA Finals as they lost 4-2.

#2 LeBron James's chase-down block

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The Block heard around the world?

Perhaps the crowning moment of LeBron's career was winning the 2016 NBA Title coming back from a 3-1 deficit and he capped it off with one of the greatest clutch defensive plays.

Game 7 was tied at 89 apiece with under 2 minutes remaining when the Warriors got on the fast-break after a Cavs miss. They looked set on taking the lead but James had his trademark chase-down block and denied Iguodala a certain layup at the basket.

It was the highlight of an excellent defensive performance down the stretch by the Cavs as the Warriors failed to score a point in the final 4:39 of the game. If that layup had gone in, it might have sparked a Warriors revival but James ensured it wouldn't. And we all know what happened next. Kyrie Irving drilled a 3 with 53 seconds remaining and James hit a late Free Throw to seal a highly improbable 93-89 victory.

#1 Michael Jordan jolts the Jazz

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This was a sequence of plays which summed up Michael Jordan's career. Arguably the most clutch player of all-time, Jordan had his mic drop moment at the end of his final game as a member of the Chicago Bulls.

The Bulls trailed 84-87 in Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals and a potential game 7 loomed on the horizon. After Jordan scored with a layup, the Jazz had the ball with 37 seconds remaining. John Stockton passed it off to Karl Malone in the post but with 20 seconds remaining Jordan stole the ball off a double team and proceeded to walk it up the court.

He then drove towards the basket, executed a crossover (might have pushed off Bryon Russell there) and drilled what would be the game-winner with 5 seconds remaining. John Stockton missed a 3 at the buzzer and the Bulls won their 6th title in 8 seasons.

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Edited by Yash Matange