Tracy McGrady

Tracy McGrady had won back-to-back scoring titles. He had posted 62 points in a single game. He had carried franchises on talent alone for years. And yet nothing in the catalog of one of the most gifted offensive players the game has produced compares to what he did in the final 33 seconds against the San Antonio Spurs on December 9, 2004. The Rockets trailed by eight with 35 seconds left. The Toyota Center had gone quiet. The Spurs, coached by Gregg Popovich and anchored by Tim Duncan, were one of the most disciplined late-game defensive organizations in NBA history. Four consecutive three-pointers later, the last with 1.7 seconds on the clock, Houston led 81-80. McGrady drew a foul on one of them, converted the free throw, and completed thirteen points in thirty-three seconds against a defense built specifically to prevent this from happening. He described it afterward as an out-of-body experience: he did not know what came over him, could not explain it, and did not believe he could repeat it. The two-time scoring champion and Hall of Famer had spent years in Orlando watching his playoff runs end before they started, and arrived in Houston chasing something more. This night was not the playoffs, but it produced the most stunning individual closing sequence in league history. McGrady finished with 33 points, two rebounds, eight assists and five steals, nearly all of it built in the shadows of the last half-minute.