4 old Suns games available for free on NBA League Pass classics

Are you missing the NBA? The league is offering access to a handful of old Phoenix Suns games for free.

NBA League Pass is allowing viewers to watch classic games for free. Guests only need a login, which is free to create.

Among the selection is four old Suns games including the “Shot Heard ‘Round The World” game and Charles Barkley’s 43-point playoff triple-double.

There are also three All-Star games available with Suns players.

Here is a breakdown of the games fans can watch:

Suns vs. Celtics: June 4, 1976

1976 NBA Finals, Game 5

One of the great NBA Finals games, June 4 consisted of three overtime periods and the “Shot Heard ‘Round The World” before the Boston Celtics finally came out ahead with a 128-126 win over the Suns.

Gar Heard, who made the miraculous shot that sent the game to the third overtime and prompted broadcaster Al McCoy to exclaim “somebody up there is on our side,” finished the game with 17 points and 12 rebounds in 61 minutes played.

The other four Suns starters scored at least 20 points. Paul Westphal had 25 and Curtis Perry dropped 23 points with 15 rebounds and six assists.

On the Celtics side, Jo Jo White had 33 points, nine assists and six rebounds. Dave Cowens had 26 points and 19 boards and Paul Silas had 17 points and 14 rebounds.

Setting the stage:

The “Sunderella” Suns, who lost 18 of 22 games between Dec. 19 and Jan. 29, finished the season 10-4 to get into the playoffs for just the second time in franchise history.

They then beat the Seattle SuperSonics in six and the top-seeded Golden State Warriors to advance to the Finals against the Celtics, who were looking for their 13th Finals win over a 20-season stretch.

Phoenix had lost the first two games of the series before bouncing back to get the next two at home. With a 2-2 series tie, this game had the potential to shape the series. It’s what the 1976 season is remembered for.

Suns vs. SuperSonics: May 17, 1979

Western Conference Finals, Game 7

After Phoenix took a 3-2 series lead, they lost by one point in Game 6 and returned to Seattle for Game 7.

Seattle was led by a pair of Hall of Famers in center Jack Sikma and point guard Dennis Johnson, and a future All-NBA player in Gus Williams.

Paul Westphal scored 25 points and had nine assists, Walter Davis had 26 points and four steals and Truck Robinson had 16 points and 14 rebounds, but the SuperSonics trio was too much to overcome.

Sikma scored 33 points and grabbed 11 boards as Williams and Johnson combined for 55 points. Seattle won 114-110 and returned to the Finals for a rematch of the previous season’s championship series against the Washington Bullets. 

Setting the stage: The Suns averaged the second-most points per game this season and went 50-32. They took down the Portland Trail Blazers 2-1 in the first round, beat the Kansas City Kings in five games in the second and then matched up against the Sonics.

Alvan Adams got injured in Game 2, but the Suns managed to take a 3-2 series lead without him. In Game 6, with Adams still out due to his sprained ankle, the Suns lost by one point after failing to convert three times in the final minute, the last of which was another potential Heard buzzer-beater.

Adams returned for Game 7, but the Suns couldn’t put it away. The Sonics went on to win their only Finals in franchise history.

Suns vs. Lakers: May 28, 1989

Western Conference Finals, Game 4

With Cotton Fitzsimmons at the helm and Tom Chambers on board, the Suns had the top scoring offense in the league and went 55-27. They got to the Western Conference Finals, where they faced the Los Angeles Lakers.

Down 3-0 in the series, Chambers scored 41 points and had 13 rebounds and six assists. Kevin Johnson had 22 points, 10 assists and four steals, and Eddie Johnson, Dan Majerle and Armen Gilliam each scored double-digit points off the bench.

But Magic Johnson put up a masterpiece, posting 21 points, 20 assists and six rebounds to lead the Lakers to a 122-117 win.

Byron Scott scored 35 and James Worthy had 20 points, eight rebounds and six assists.

Setting the stage: After going 28-54 the season prior, Phoenix brought back Fitzsimmons to coach, signed Chambers to the first-ever free agent deal and moved Johnson to the starting lineup.

Given preseason championship odds of +10,000, according to Basketball Reference, they came close to making it pay off for their bettors.

But after the Suns won seven of the eight playoff games in the first two series, they ran into the Showtime Lakers. Magic and Co. was too much for Phoenix, which got swept. But this was the Suns’ first of 13 straight years in the playoffs.

The Showtime Lakers would advance to the NBA Finals for the eighth time in 10 seasons.

Suns vs. Sonics: June 1, 1993

Western Conference Finals, Game 5

In one of the defining games of Charles Barkley’s career, the power forward posted a triple-double with 43 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists.

He led the Suns to a 120-114 win and out-played a young Shawn Kemp, who had 33 points, six rebounds and four assists.

Majerle chipped in with 34 points, seven rebounds and four assists and Johnson had a double-double. For the Sonics, Ricky Pierce had 27 points and Gary Payton posted 20 points and eight assists.

Phoenix took a 3-2 series lead and, unlike 14 seasons earlier, would not relinquish it. The Suns won the series in seven games to advance to the Finals for the second time in team history.

Setting the stage: Charles Barkley was named the NBA Most Valuable Player in his first year with the Suns. First-year head coach Paul Westphal led the Suns to the highest-scoring offense in the league and a 62-20 record, which remains tied as the best in franchise history.

In the first round of the playoffs, Phoenix overcame a 2-0 deficit to the Lakers in a best-of-five series, then beat the San Antonio Spurs in six.

After getting momentum with a Game 5 win against the Sonics, the Suns won in seven to get a date with Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in the NBA Finals.

Other games featuring Suns players:

There are three other available classic games in which you can catch Suns players.

The 1977 All-Star Game featured Westphal, who scored a team-high 20 points in a Western Conference victory.

In the 1984 All-Star Game, Walter Davis came off the bench and scored 10 points in the overtime game.

In 2001, Jason Kidd started the All-Star Game and had 11 points and five steals.

Additionally, the entire 2019-20 season is available to viewers for free.

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