8. APRIL 1, 2009 Who sags on help defense when they’re guarding Allen in the corner? That’s inadvisable for Gerald Wallace in a preseason game during the second quarter, let alone in double overtime.

If this shot wasn’t enough, the Memphis game-winner came just two days after his three put Seattle up 103-102 over San Antonio with just 5.4 seconds remaining in a Sonics win.

9. MARCH 28, 2006 It’s rare to see Allen create off the dribble in clutch situations, but it’s not unheard of. His winner to beat the Grizzlies may even be his most impressive winner because of the degree of difficulty from leaning to the side to find room to shoot.

There’s plenty more where those came from. Here are Allen’s top 10 game-winning daggers of his career. 10. NOV. 4, 2011 Allen went almost a full year before knocking down a game-winning three, but his corner triple against Toronto (made possible by a roadblock screen from Kevin Garnett ) on the road broke his dry spell. Counting this season’s three winning shots, he has six game-winning threes in November, the most of any month.

I say already because his game-winning three-pointer to beat San Antonio on Thursday was his third of November alone. He beat Cleveland and Denver the same way. Against the Cavaliers, Allen’s defender sagged off to help on LeBron James at the wrong split-second, giving Allen room to shoot, nearly the exact scenario he exploited to beat the Spurs.

Ray Allen did it again last night. He does it so often “it” is simply just understood at this point: He hit a game-winning shot with the cool precision of a man doing the mundane. Whether in Milwaukee, Seattle, Boston or Miami (already), the all-time NBA three-point leader, the man they call Jesus, is one of the game’s ultimate clutch shooters.





7. NOV. 3, 2012

Even when you need no introduction, first impressions are a big deal. Allen’s four-point play to beat Denver this season in just his new team’s third game was the perfect way to show that if he’s lost a step, he’s no less clutch.





6. NOV. 24, 2007

The Celtics’ Big Three era nearly began with a loss to the Bobcats until Allen pulled an Horry-esque winner out of thin air. The Bobcats were trying to inbound the ball in their own backcourt when the pass was tipped and swung around the arc to Allen, whose triple put Boston up one with four zeroes. I can’t tell if the best part is when Charlotte’s Raymond Felton simply keels over in place in disappointment, or the assistant coach who falls to his knees and pounds the floor. Tie?





5. APRIL 17, 2011

The first round series in the 2011 playoffs eventually ended in a sweep, but Game 1 came down to a pick-and-roll off a double screen that Allen buried for an 87-85 lead with 11.6 remaining. Inbounding the ball, Jesus set a screen for Paul Pierce before Kevin Garnett set a backscreen on Toney Douglas for Allen. A slight trip was all he needed to get the game-winner off.





4. FEB. 3, 2009

A couple of times Allen has not just made the game winner but the shot that set up the winner. This is one of them, and an example of Allen’s focus, one that lends itself to repeating a clutch shot over and over.

He tied this game in Philadelphia with a three, then beat the Sixers after Andre Iguodala had himself played the hero with a jumper to take the lead with less than six seconds to go. Found by Paul Pierce‘s skip pass, Allen stroked the corner three for the win.





3. APRIL 20, 2009

This shot was just one of the many parts that made up one of the greatest playoff series ever, but it may be the most memorable. Tied at 115 with Chicago in the fourth quarter, Doc Rivers eschewed a play for Paul Pierce to run Allen off two screens. The look he got was over the arm of Joakim Noah, but he only need a couple inches of space to get his shot off.





2. JUNE 12, 2008

OK, it’s not quite a game-winning shot in the sense he stole back the lead but Allen’s right-to-left layup in Game 4 of the NBA Finals was no less a dagger. The Celtics had been up just three when he took Sasha Vujacic off the dribble to give Boston a five-point cushion and the series lead it would never relinquish. It was a huge call to not only take the ball out of Paul Pierce‘s hands (thus freezing Kobe out from defending the play) but to let Allen create off the dribble, which isn’t his strong suit. He — wait for it — delivered.





1. JAN. 22, 2006

In one of the most entertaining games I can remember of the past decade, the only reason Seattle beat Phoenix, 152-149 in two overtimes, was Allen. This was quantity and quality â€” and on the road against a Suns team that was Western Conference Final material.