 Exterior of the Alamodome in May 2018. | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | May 31, 1999 | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Venue | Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas | ||||||||||||||||||
| Referees | Dan Crawford Bob Delaney Ron Garretson | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 35,260 | ||||||||||||||||||
The Memorial Day Miracle is a game-winning three-point field goal by Sean Elliott in Game 2 of the 1999 Western Conference Finals between the Portland Trail Blazers and the San Antonio Spurs at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, on May 31, 1999, Memorial Day.
Damon Stoudamire of the Trail Blazers was fouled with 12 seconds left in the fourth quarter. He hit one of two free throws to make the Trail Blazers' lead a score of 85–83. The Spurs called a timeout to advance the ball to half-court. After the timeout, Spurs guard Mario Elie inbounded the ball past a diving Augmon to forward Sean Elliott.
Elliott caught the inbounds pass near the sideline. He stayed on his toes while turning to shoot a three-pointer, careful not to set his heels down out of bounds which would have caused a turnover. With Rasheed Wallace running at him trying to block the shot, Elliott arched the ball over Wallace's outstretched hand and into the basket with nine seconds left to give the Spurs an 86–85 lead. [1] Portland failed to score in the remaining time, and the Spurs, who had trailed for the entire game prior to Elliott's basket, celebrated on the court.
The game was broadcast on NBC as part of its NBA on NBC branding. The call was announced by Bob Costas:
"Elie will throw it in... into Sean Elliott. He fires the three... and hits it!" [2]
The "Miracle" designation relates to the combination of circumstances involved:
The Spurs won the next two games in Portland for a four-game sweep to win their first-ever conference title, after having lost four conference championship series since joining the NBA. In the 1999 NBA Finals, they beat the New York Knicks in five games to win their first NBA title. The Spurs would compete in the Western Conference Finals in nine out of the next 18 years and make it to the NBA Finals five more times, winning all but once to spark a dynasty. Portland would appear in the Western Conference Finals the following year, but would run into another team keen on building a legacy in the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers would beat them in seven games, and Portland did not win another playoff series again until 2013 and did not make another appearance in the Conference Finals until 2019.
Sean Michael Elliott is an American former professional basketball player who starred as a small forward in both the college and professional ranks. He attended the University of Arizona, where he had a standout career as a two-time All-American, winner of the 1989 John R. Wooden Award, the 1989 Adolph Rupp Trophy, the 1989 NABC Player of the Year, 1989 AP Player of the Year, and two time Pac-12 Player of the Year.
Rasheed Abdul Wallace is an American basketball coach and former professional player. A native of Philadelphia, Wallace played college basketball at the University of North Carolina before declaring for the draft in 1995. He played 16 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Mario Antoine Elie is an American former professional basketball coach and player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Elie grew up in New York City and played college basketball at American International College, before being drafted in the seventh round of the 1985 NBA draft as the 160th overall pick by the Milwaukee Bucks.
In basketball and other such timed sports, a buzzer beater is a shot that is taken just before the game clock of a quarter, a half, or an overtime period expires, but does not go in the basket until after the clock expires and the buzzer sounds, hence the name "buzzer beater". The concept normally applies to baskets that beat an end-of-quarter/2nd-half/overtime buzzer but is sometimes applied to shots that beat the shot clock buzzer.
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