On February 12, 2014, 2 Basketball games ended with supreme, buzzer beating shots as both the Syracuse Orangemen and the Miami Heat won their respective match-ups. The question is, which highlight was more impressive?
At the Petersen Events Center, the visiting No. 1 Syracuse Orangemen were trailing the No. 25 Pittsburgh Panthers 56-55 with 4.4 seconds left in regulation. The Orangemen’s 23-0 record was in serious danger; Panther fans were fired-up to see their team take down the nation’s top squad on their home court. However, as the buzzer sounded, Syracuse’s Freshman Point Guard, Tyler Ennis, silenced the arena when he drained a 3-pointer from 35 feet away. With this “miracle” of a shot, the Orangemen improved to 24-0 while the Panthers dropped to 20-4.
Later that night, the Miami Heat found themselves in a similar situation; the Heat were down 108-110 to the Golden State Warriors with about 6 seconds to go. As time ticked down, and the crowd began to cheer, LeBron James stole the game as he made a deep 3 to take the lead. The Heat escaped Oracle Arena with a big win on their final game before the All-Star break.
On this night of clutch, buzzer-beating 3-pointers, both LeBron James and Tyler Ennis put on quite a show for the highlight reel. The Orangemen’s win, however, meant a little more than that of the reigning NBA champions that night. According to ESPN, Ennis’ 35-foot shot not only sealed the record for the longest win streak in school history, but it also put an end to Pitt’s stretch of 10 wins over Top 5 opponents. With those achievements reached, Tyler Ennis definitely takes the cake for the highlight of the night.