- Ray Allen, bottom right corner, hits the shot heard around the world.
Twitter erupted with typed chants of “Jesus Shuttlesworth” after geriatric shooting guard Ray Allen hit an improbable 3-point shot that propelled the Miami Heat past the San Antonio Spurs to force a Game 7 in the 2013 NBA Finals.
Jesus Shuttlesworth was the famous character Ray Allen played — his one and only acting gig — in the Spike Lee 1998 film He Got Game that starred Denzel Washington. And in the last seconds of a game where the Heat trailed by double digits going in to the fourth quarter, Allen backpedaled blindly and, using muscle memory, landed just beyond the 3-point line at the same time he took a rebound pass from Chris Bosh and shot the ball — all in one motion. It didn’t even touch the net as it went through and saved the Miami Heat’s season.
Just like in the movie. And, as one Twitter follower pointed out, it happened on the same day that Kanye West’s Yeezus came out.
But if the movie is not considered a classic, the Game 6 comeback led by LeBron James and Allen is certainly an instant classic.
One fan put it succinctly:
All I know is… Lebron better thank God for Jesus……………………………………………..shuttlesworth lol — Brandon S. Wells (@BeanieGreezball) June 19, 2013
And if the Heat go on to win game 7, LeBron James will thank the real Jesus, as well as Ray Allen. Check out the other tweets about Allen’s heroics.
