Watch: Kobe Bryant hits game-winner over Dwyane Wade as the Staples Centre erupts in this iconic video from 12 years ago
Staples Center erupted 12 years ago as Kobe Bryant scored a buzzer-beater over Dwyane Wade to clinch the win for the LA Lakers over the Miami Heat.
It was the Lakers' 18th game of the 2009-10 NBA season, as they played host to the Heat. The Lakers were on a 7-game winning streak, having lost only 3 games of 17 games played. As the fourth quarter drove to an end, their winning streak was threatened as the Heat led by a 2-point differential, 107-105. Then Kobe Bryant happened.
Time counted down to 0.5 seconds as Metta Sandiford-Artest made the pass to Bryant. KB24 tried to shake off Wade, who was closely marking the shooting guard, but Wade wasn't budging.
Kobe went up, dropped back into his usual signature move and let it rip from beyond the arc. Wade lifted and stretched his hand to block the ball, but he was a few inches lower as the ball soared through the air into the hoop. It was in and the Lakers secured the win from a 2-point deficit with a three-pointer just at the buzzer.
The crowd went wild!
The game ended with Kobe Bryant posting 33 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals. Making 12 of 25 attempts from the field, 2 of 3 attempts from beyond the arc and an almost perfect record from the charity stripe.
Dwyane Wade replicates the Kobe Bryant buzzer-beater against the Golden State Warriors
On February 27, 2019, Dwyane Wade helped the Miami Heat secure a victory over the Golden State Warriors in their 60th game of the season. He made a three-point buzzer-beater to give the Heat a one-point advantage over the Warriors, just like Kobe Bryant did over him in 2009.
The shot was a replica of the 2009 Kobe Bryant buzzer-beater, as he had the ball hit the glass and then drop into the basket. The American Airlines Arena roared as the buzzer went off. Wade was ecstatic as he ran through the maze of teammates and team staff trying to celebrate with him.
In an interview after the end of the game, Wade referenced his encounter with Kobe Bryant in 2009 as the motivation for making the buzzer-beater. He also thanked the Black Mamba for showing him the way.
He recorded 25 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists coming off the bench for the Heat. Wade registered 10 of 17 attempts from the field and 5 out of 8 from beyond the arc to record a 62.5% accuracy. Only Goran Dragic had a better scoring output as he posted 27 points.
That year, D-Wade got his 13th and final All-Star call-up after 4 years of hiatus. He posted an average of 15.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 4.2 assists. By the end of the season, he retired from the game with a career average of 22.0 points, 4.7 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game in 1054 appearances.