NBA Playoff Memories: Terrence Ross Steals a Moment

The High Post would like to take this opportunity to discuss their favorite NBA playoff moments from the earlier rounds. We were pretty fortunate this year in that we were offered a wealth of signature moments right from the start. In fact, it's difficult to recall a more exciting first round across the board than what we were privy to last month.

All the individual moments we celebrate in the postseason don't coalesce into a single timeline for us to remember. At the end of it, a champion emerges, and that's our one lasting memory.

But the first round of these playoffs deserved better than our forgetfulness. The tension of all the well fought series happening simultaneously, with exciting finishes on a nightly basis turning the first two weeks of the post-season into a basketball fan's dream.

No matter what the league wants to say about parity, and celebrating the fact that the final four teams in this year's playoffs all came from their definition of "small-markets", the truth remains only a handful of teams come into every season with realistic expectations of winning the title -- excluding the ill-conceived notions of one particular owner.

For the rest of the fan bases, the regular season becomes a six-month exercise in evaluating their own team and what construes a successful season for them when there is no championship to compete for at the end of it all. As a Toronto Raptors fan entering the playoffs, the mandate was clear: Win a seven-game playoff series for the first time in franchise history and consider the season a rousing success.

The team's first round matchup against the Brooklyn Nets came down to a Game 7 in Toronto. Inexperience often feels like an overplayed notion to me, especially in the playoffs because it sounds like a convenient excuse for the team less capable of executing when it matters. But in Game 7, it rang true. The Raptors played as if they were under duress, at a pace that felt rushed, as if they were playing without much thinking.

Their best player that day was forward Amir Johnson, who poured in 20 points and 10 rebounds but fouled out after just 22 minutes. The backcourt of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan -- who were superb for long stretches of the series -- shot a combined 12 for 31 from the field.

And then there was Terrence Ross.

The sophomore shooting guard disappeared in his first career playoff series. The same player who poured in 51-points during the regular season against the Los Angeles Clippers was a complete non-factor against Brooklyn. Game 7 was no different. Ross was hesitant on the offensive end. Several times, teammates found him for wide-open looks from three, the same shots he made in rhythm during the season were now airballs, or something close to it.

The Raptors trailed by eight at halftime, and faced the same deficit heading into the fourth quarter. They didn't come close to playing their best in the most important game of the season. But despite all this, they fought and rallied. Inexplicably, the deficit was cut to just one with less than 10 seconds to go. The Nets were in possession of the ball—I was curled up on my dog's bed in the living room chewing my fingernails off—when Shaun Livingston lofted a pass to Paul Pierce off the in-bound. There was Ross, fronting Pierce perfectly and using his athleticism to tip the ball in the air. He tipped it once, twice, and in my mind several thousand times more, and just as he was going out of bounds, he had the presence of mind to throw it off Pierce. Raptors ball and a chance to win the series.

To say the Toronto crowd was going berserk would be underselling the moment. The entire city—inside the arena, the tens of thousands watching outside on the big screen, me at home—was exhilarated. We celebrated in unison, wishing we could just freeze that moment in time so we could revel in it just a little bit longer.

All of Ross's shortcomings in the series were forgiven because of this singular feat of athleticism. But the playoffs don't allow for those individual moments to stand on their own for too long. After the timeout, Kyle Lowry drove into three defenders in the lane and floated up a game-winning attempt, only to have it blocked by Pierce. And just like that, the season was over.

It took a few days to get over the loss, and it still hurts thinking about it. But the single moment when Terrence Ross forced the turnover still remains my favorite, because I want that feeling of hope and joy again. I remember the adrenaline rush of the game changing play, and how proud I felt of my team in that one single moment. I'll remember that for a while. It turns out you can make painful memories recede into the distance, and cherish the better ones a little while longer.

The High Post is VICE Sports' NBA collective and they will be sharing their favorite memories of the 2014 postseason. This was the second installment. Here's the first.