24 years ago today, the Phoenix Suns made one of the greatest comebacks in history

24 years ago today (November 25, 1995), the Phoenix Suns completed one of the greatest comebacks in history. And it was glorious.

With one minute and 30 seconds remaining in a November 25, game against the Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns Hall of Fame broadcaster Al McCoy asked his simulcast audience on UPN 45 and KTAR 620 AM “are the Suns running out of time?”

Down 110-100 at that moment, in a game that the home team, had no business winning, one might have thought that yes, the Suns had run out of time, and that the Lakers would snap a four-game losing streak to Phoenix, and a two-game losing streak that year – each by one point.

In this era of Suns history, the fourth and final season with Charles Barkley on the roster, Phoenix had dominated the Lakers, following years of misery in which L.A. generally ripped out the heart’s of the Valley faithful.

However, led by Sir Charles, Phoenix had won 11 of their last 15 against their vaunted rivals, including four-out-of five the season before.

This game though, was the first of four regular season matchups (the teams had faced each other five times a year for the previous five years, however with the expansion of the Toronto Raptors and Vancouver Grizzlies, they would only meet four times from them on out), on that head coach Paul Westphal would not survive as the consistently injury-depleted Suns would unceremoniously reach the end of the era that had been the greatest in franchise-history.

In this particular game, Charles Barkley had played quite poorly. Finishing with only 16 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 turnovers, following the game he was highly complimentary of his teammates for pickup up his slack, noting the play of Kevin Johnson, Wesley Person, and rookie Michael Finley.

Ironically for Barkley, while this particular game was a poor one for the then 32-year-old, his regular season averages of 23.2 points, 11.6 rebounds, .8 blocks, and 50.0% FG% were all the second best of his four seasons in Phoenix, each behind only his MVP year of 1992-93.

In the late-game charge, Finley would play the most pivotal role.

In only the 11th game of his career (he would play all 82 games his rookie season before severely spraining his ankle right before halftime in the final game of the year, an injury that would keep him out of the 3-1 series first round loss to the San Antonio Spurs), Fins would nail two of the team’s final four 3’s.

Finishing with a team-high 23 points, shooting 6-15 from the field and 3-6 from beyond the arc, in a somewhat Reggie Miller-esque manner, incredibly, eight of his points coming in the final 67 seconds.

However, had the rookie not gone on that magical tear, Kevin Johnson would have been the team-high scorer, after finishing 11-11 from the charity stripe, although a total 5-12 from the field.

He too, though, would play a major factor in the final few seconds, not only nailing the second 3 in the comeback – coming after two Cedric Ceballos free throws that had originally stretched the Lakers’ lead back to nine points – but following a Fred Roberts brick (Roberts played only six minutes and was never supposed to take a crunch-time shot but was left in after a defensive substitution), he dishing the ball to a streaking Barkley on the corner of the arc, who’s subsequent nailed a clutch 3 that would cut the Lakers’ lead to 1 with 19.8 seconds remaining.

Speaking of Ceballos, this was his second season with the Lakers, after the first four years in Phoenix.

Now an all-star and one of the league’s best scorers, he had been traded prior to the start of 1994-95 regular season to open up space for veterans Danny Manning and Wayman Tisdale for a first round pick that would become – Michael Finley.

Ceballos, the Lakers’ leading scorer that season with 21.2 points per game, led all scorers with 34 points, finishing 16-19 from the free throw stripe, grabbing 9 boards and dishing out 4 assists.

The player though who would arguably play the biggest role in the Phoenix Suns completing their improbably comeback was Lakers point guard Nick Van Exel.

In his third season in the pros, all with LA, Van Exel brought the ball up court following the Barkley 3, and believed that the Suns were going to foul him to save time on the clock and allow his subsequent free throws to potentially push the lead back up to 3 points.

After sprinting across the mid-court line where he was immediately double-teamed, Van Exel inexplicably picked up the dribble and held the ball for the next 12 seconds while KJ, Wesley Person, and after a few seconds Barkley, would mob him ultimately leading to a jump ball between he and Sir Charles.

Cotton Fitzsimmons could not believe that Van Exel never passed the ball to run out the clock.

Twice Van Exel had wide open teammates near by in Anthony Peeler and Elden Campbell, but expecting to be fouled, he chose not to pass it – a play that on Van Exel’s part, Barkley later (and I’m literally quoting), called “terrible.”

A.C. Green of the Phoenix Suns would ultimately – although barely – snag the ball off of the ensuing jump and pass it to the streaking Finley.

Finley would take two dribbles before pulling up at the free throw line for the incredible jumper, a crazy finish to the greatest last-second comeback in franchise history.

Quotes and quote summaries from this game were found in the Arizona Republic circa November 26, 1995.