April 29, 1970: It's easy to forgot why Jerry West became "The Logo" for the NBA. As a player, West was fearless and electric -- never more so than at the end of Game 3 of the 1970 NBA Finals.
In that game, West's Lakers had just gone down two points to the New York Knicks after a shot from Dave DeBusschere with three seconds left. West took the inbounds and had seconds to cross the court.
He did so through the air.
Back in 1970, there was no three-point shot, so West's 60-foot bomb only counted for two. Still, it tied the game and sent it into overtime.
Unfortunately, the Lakers weren't able to build momentum off of West's historic shot -- and neither was West himself. He used up all his good fortune in regulation and missed five shots in overtime. The Knicks won that game by three, and ended up winning the NBA championship in a memorable Game 7 that featured the dramatic return of a hobbled Willis Reed -- to this day one of the greatest games in NBA history.
