Buzzer beater


In timed sports, a buzzer beater is a successful shot made as the clock expires at the end of a period or at the end of the game, leaving zero seconds remaining. A buzzer sounds whenever a game clock expires, hence the name "buzzer beater." In basketball, the concept normally applies to baskets made at the end of a quarter, the second half, or overtime. A buzzer beater only counts if it leaves the player's fingers before the shot clock runs out. If the ball remains in the player's hands, then the shot violates the Trent Tucker Rule and does not count. The term is most commonly applied to shots that win or tie the game as the game clock expires.
Officials in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, National Basketball Association, Women's National Basketball Association, Serie A, and the EuroLeague Final Four series are required to use instant replay to verify whether a shot that is made at the end of a period was released before the game clock expired. Since 2002, the NBA has also mandated the use of LED light strips along the edges of the backboard and the edge of the scorer's table to identify the end of a period.

Notable examples

Although buzzer beaters are fairly common, several instances have been recognized as special occasions:

NCAA">National Collegiate Athletic Association">NCAA

  • Dubbed "The Dunk," by the Technician, in the 1983 NCAA Championship Finals, NC State forward Lorenzo Charles caught Dereck Whittenburg's airball and dunked it as time expired to defeat Houston 54–52. NC State won its last ten games of the season, including the ACC Tournament Championship, to become eligible for the NCAA Tournament. NC State also had the most regular season losses of any previous NCAA champion.
  • In the 1992 NCAA Tournament, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets' coach Bobby Cremins led an inexperienced Tech team to the Sweet 16, thanks to James Forrest's buzzer-beating game-winning three-pointer in the second round against USC. With eight-tenths of a second left, Forrest received a half-court inbounds pass, rotated 180 degrees, and hit a three-pointer at the buzzer for the win.
  • In the 1992 East Regional Final, with 2.1 seconds left and down 103–102 in overtime, Duke forward Christian Laettner caught a full-court inbounds pass from Grant Hill. He turned and hit a shot at the buzzer to give the Duke Blue Devils a 104–103 victory over the Kentucky Wildcats. The lead changed hands five times in the last 31.5 seconds of overtime.
  • On January 5, 2004, the Texas Longhorns' forward P. J. Tucker hit a buzzer beater in a game against Providence College to win 79–77 in overtime. After extensive review of the instant replay, it was clear that the ball was in his hand when the game clock hit 00.0, but out before the red backboard light came on; by rule, the game ends when the backboard lights up, so the basket counted and Texas won the game.
  • On January 31, 2005, Guilford College was tied at 88 with Randolph-Macon College. Randolph-Macon was shooting two free throws with six-tenths of a second left. After making the first to take an 89–88 lead, the second shot missed. Guilford player Jordan Snipes grabbed the rebound under the basket and threw the ball towards the other goal. The shot went in, giving Guilford a 91–89 victory. Snipes duplicated the shot several days later on air with the local news network WFMY-TV in Greensboro, North Carolina.
  • In the 2006 NCAA Tournament First Round, #14 seed Northwestern State stunned the #3 seed Iowa Hawkeyes 64–63 with a last-second three-pointer "off the heels" in the far corner by Jermaine Wallace. Northwestern State had come back from 17 points down with 8 minutes to play.
  • In a 2010 NCAA regular season game against Georgia Tech, the Maryland Terrapins, made two buzzer beaters. First, with three seconds on the clock, Greivis Vasquez made a half-court shot on the run to beat what would have been the buzzer. However, Maryland coach Keith Booth had called timeout with 1.5 seconds left, before Vasquez had released the ball. Following the timeout on the ensuing inbounds pass, the Terps got the ball to Cliff Tucker, who made a three-pointer at the buzzer to win the game 76–74.
  • On February 7, 2013, in an NCAA regular season game, Tyler Griffey made an uncontested buzzer-beating layup off an inbounds pass with nine-tenths of a second left to lead the Illinois Fighting Illini to a 74–72 upset home win over #1 ranked Indiana Hoosiers.
  • On March 18, 2016, during the first round of the 2016 NCAA tournament, Paul Jesperson of Northern Iowa made a buzzer beater from half court to win the game for the 11th-seeded Panthers 75–72 and upset the 6th-seeded Texas Longhorns.
  • On March 20, 2016, during the second round of the 2016 NCAA tournament, with 2.6 seconds left and the game tied at 63, Wisconsin's Bronson Koenig made a three-point buzzer beater after receiving an inbound pass from Ethan Happ. This resulted in the 7th-seeded Wisconsin upsetting the 2nd-seeded Xavier.
  • On April 4, 2016, Villanova's Kris Jenkins hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to defeat North Carolina to win the 2016 NCAA tournament, 77–74.
  • On March 24, 2017, Chris Chiozza hit a running three-pointer at the buzzer to help Florida defeat Wisconsin 84–83 in overtime during the NCAA Tournament's Sweet Sixteen.
  • On April 3, 2021, Gonzaga's Jalen Suggs hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to defeat UCLA to win the NCAA Tournament Final Four, 93–90. Gonzaga would go on to the championship but lost to Baylor 86–70.
  • On April 1, 2023, SDSU's Lamont Butler hit a jumper at the buzzer to defeat FAU to win the NCAA Tournament Final Four, 72-71.

    NBA">National Basketball Association">NBA

Regular season

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  • * On January 14, 1992, Larry Johnson, in his rookie season, hit a buzzer beater to give his Charlotte Hornets a 117–116 overtime victory over the Seattle SuperSonics.
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  • * On March 15, 1998, Voshon Lenard hit a buzzer beater to give his Miami Heat a 79–76 victory over the Orlando Magic. The goal was initially disallowed, but following video review, it was allowed after it was determined that the ball was out of Lenard's hands before the Orlando Arena game clock struck 00:0.
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  • * On January 3, 2007, Gilbert Arenas scored a buzzer-beater to lead the Washington Wizards to win the game against the Milwaukee Bucks 108–105.
  • * On January 15, 2007, Gilbert Arenas' game-winning three-point shot led the Washington Wizards to a 114–111 victory against the Utah Jazz.
  • * On December 2, 2008, Troy Murphy tipped in a buzzer-beating shot to lift the Indiana Pacers over the Los Angeles Lakers 118–117.
  • * On January 23, 2009, LeBron James scored a buzzer beater to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 106–105 victory against the Golden State Warriors.
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  • * On December 4, 2009, Kobe Bryant's game-winning three-pointer over Dwyane Wade gave the Los Angeles Lakers a 108–107 victory against the Miami Heat.
  • * On January 14, 2010, rookie Sundiata Gaines hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to end a frenzied series of comebacks and give the Utah Jazz a 97-96 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday night.
  • * On March 25, 2010, Josh Smith scored a putback dunk after Joe Johnson's missed shot just ahead of the buzzer, causing the Atlanta Hawks beat the Orlando Magic, earning the Hawks a third straight trip to the playoffs with an 86-84 victory.
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  • * On December 21, 2010, Mike Dunleavy's tip-in at the buzzer gave the Indiana Pacers a 94-93 victory over the New Orleans Hornets.
  • * On December 29, 2010, Tyreke Evans made a three-pointer from mid-court as time expired, earning the Sacramento Kings a 100-98 win over the Memphis Grizzlies.
  • – On December 29, 2011, Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder led the team to a 104–102 win over the Dallas Mavericks, thanks to his game-winning dagger three-pointer.
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  • * On November 9, 2013, Jeff Green hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to lift the Boston Celtics to a 111-110 victory over the Miami Heat.
  • * On November 15, 2013, Joe Johnson stole a pass and dropped in a short jumper as time expired in overtime, giving the Brooklyn Nets a 100-98 win over the Phoenix Suns on Friday night.
  • * On February 7, 2014, Tobias Harris scored a game-winning dunk as the buzzer sounded as Orlando Magic won 104–103 against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
  • * On February 24, 2014, Dirk Nowitzki's jumper bounced up and then fell in as time expired, giving the Dallas Mavericks a 110-108 victory over the New York Knicks.
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  • * On November 14, 2014, Courtney Lee scored on a lob pass as time expired to cap a fourth-quarter rally, and the Memphis Grizzlies came from 26 points down to beat the Sacramento Kings 111-110 on Thursday night.
  • * On January 23, 2015, James Harden creates space and knocks down the game-winning jumper as time expires to lead the Houston Rockets to a 113-111 victory over the Phoenix Suns.
  • * On February 6, 2015, Anthony Davis led the New Orleans Pelicans to a 116–113 win vs. the Oklahoma City Thunder.
  • – On March 23, 2016, Emmanuel Mudiay made a shot at the buzzer to finish with 27 points and give the Denver Nuggets a 104-103 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.
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  • * On January 4, 2017, Giannis Antetokounmpo made a turnaround jumper at the buzzer to give the Milwaukee Bucks a 105-104 victory over the New York Knicks.
  • * On March 5, 2017, then-Phoenix Suns rookie Tyler Ulis made the three-point shot at the buzzer to upset the Boston Celtics and win the game for the Suns 109–106.
  • * On April 9, 2017, Russell Westbrook led the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 106–105 win against the Denver Nuggets with his record 42nd triple-double of the season and a buzzer beater.
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  • * On October 23, 2017, Andrew Wiggins made a three-point shot as the buzzer sounded to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 115–113 victory against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
  • * On December 26, 2017, Tyson Chandler dunked Dragan Bender's inbounds pass from the opposite sideline with 0.4 seconds remaining to give the Phoenix Suns a 99-97 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.
  • * On February 7, 2018, LeBron James scored another game winner at the buzzer in overtime to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers 140–138 against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
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  • * On December 23, 2018, Luka Dončić of the Dallas Mavericks scored a game-tying buzzer beater to tie the Portland Trail Blazers 107–all and force an overtime.
  • * On February 7, 2019, Rajon Rondo's game-winning shot against his former team, the Boston Celtics, for the Los Angeles Lakers to win the game 129–128.
  • * On February 27, 2019, Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat scored a three-point shot with no time left to defeat the Golden State Warriors 126–125.
  • * On March 24, 2019, Jeremy Lamb hit the half-court shot against the Kawhi Leonard-led Toronto Raptors to win the game for the Charlotte Hornets 115–114.
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  • * On December 23, 2020, Buddy Hield pushed the ball to lead the Sacramento Kings to a 124–122 win against the Denver Nuggets.
  • * On March 27, 2021, Harrison Barnes of the Sacramento Kings scored a three-pointer as the time expired to win the game 100–97 against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
  • * On April 14, 2021, Luka Dončić scored a regular season buzzer-beater to lead the Dallas Mavericks to a 114–113 victory against the Memphis Grizzlies.
  • * On May 3, 2021, Ben Simmons saved Joel Embiid's attempt at a three-point shot to lift the Philadelphia 76ers to a 113–111 victory against the San Antonio Spurs in overtime.
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  • * On October 27, 2021, Harrison Barnes of the Sacramento Kings scores the three-pointer to 110-107 comeback victory against Phoenix Suns.
  • * On November 6, 2021, Luka Dončić scored a three-point buzzer-beater to lead the Dallas Mavericks to a 107-104 victory against the Boston Celtics, he shot buzzer-beaters twice in six months and during two regular seasons.
  • * On December 15, 2021, Devonte' Graham scored an improbable buzzer-beater right after Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's shot with 1.4 seconds remaining, lifting New Orleans Pelicans to a 113-110 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
  • * On December 31, 2021, DeMar DeRozan of the Chicago Bulls scores the one-legged buzzer beater to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 108-106 victory over Indiana Pacers. The following night, he scored another buzzer-beater to beat the Washington Wizards 120-119, making him the first man to beat the buzzers twice in two days.
  • * On January 6, 2022, RJ Barrett of the New York Knicks hit a three-point buzzer-beater off the glass over Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics to give the Knicks the 108-105 victory.
  • * On January 21, 2022, Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors scored a buzzer beater against the Houston Rockets guard Kevin Porter Jr. to allow the Warriors to win 105-103. It was Curry's first career game-winning buzzer beater.
  • * On February 16, 2022, Stephen Curry's clutch shot gave the Golden State Warriors a 115–114 lead against the Denver Nuggets. A free throw from the Warriors followed and then Monte Morris scored a game-winning three-pointer, and the Nuggets won 117–116.
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  • * On November 5, 2022, De'Aaron Fox of Sacramento Kings scored a game-winning 31-foot buzzer beater from the center court logo in overtime, resulting in a 126–123 victory over the Orlando Magic.
  • * On March 17, 2023, Maxi Kleber of the Dallas Mavericks made a buzzer-beating, game-winning three-pointer in a 111–110 win over the Los Angeles Lakers.
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  • * On December 16, 2023, Jimmy Butler of the Miami Heat pulled off a stepback buzzer-beating jumper against his former team, the Chicago Bulls, to give Miami a 118–116 win.
  • * On December 19, 2023, Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies made his return from a 25-game suspension, pulling off a buzzer-beating game-winning jumper and won the game against the New Orleans Pelicans 115-113.
  • * On March 17, 2024, Kyrie Irving scored a left-handed floater over Nikola Jokić to give the Dallas Mavericks a 107-105 win over the Denver Nuggets on NBA Sunday Showcase.
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  • * On November 6, 2024, Brandon Miller of the Charlotte Hornets tipped the ball in at the buzzer to give the Hornets a 108–107 victory over the Detroit Pistons.
  • * On November 16, 2024, Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics scored a game winning three-pointer at the buzzer to lead the give the Celtics a 126–123 overtime victory over the Toronto Raptors.
  • * On November 17, 2024, Julius Randle of the Minnesota Timberwolves scored a game-winning three-point buzzer-beater to give the Timberwolves a 120–117 victory over the Phoenix Suns.
  • * On November 25, 2024, Jaden Ivey of the Detroit Pistons scored a buzzer-beating game-winning jumper to give the Pistons a 102–100 victory over the Toronto Raptors.
  • * On January 8, 2025, Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks shot a half-court buzzer beater to secure a 124–121 victory over the Utah Jazz, despite Collin Sexton's game-tying three-pointer.
  • * On February 6, 2025, Darius Garland of the Cleveland Cavaliers scored a buzzer-beating three-pointer to give the Cavaliers a 118–115 victory over the Detroit Pistons.
  • * On March 26, 2025, LeBron James's game-winning tip-in shot stunned the Indiana Pacers in the Los Angeles Lakers' 120–119 road win. It was his eighth career game-winning buzzer beater, and his first as a Laker.
  • * On March 27, 2025, Josh Giddey capped his triple-double performance of 25 points, 14 rebounds, and 11 assists with a half-court buzzer beater over LeBron James in the Chicago Bulls' 119–117 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. He became the first ever player to score a triple-double and a game-winning buzzer beater against the Lakers, who became the fifth team to win and lose on buzzer-beaters in consecutive days.
  • * On April 13, 2025, Bub Carrington scored an improbable fade in buzzer beater to help Washington Wizards finish the season with 18–64 record and win over Miami Heat with final score 119–118.
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  • * On October 29, 2025, Austin Reaves hit a floater to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a 116-115 road victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.