Sleepy Floyd: A Fourth Quarter for the Ages, 1987

[Imagine you are back in May 1987 and seated at press row in the Oakland Coliseum Arena. The Golden State Warriors, already down three games-to-none against the Los Angeles Lakers, are about to get swept in Game Four of the Western Conference semifinals. After three quarters, the Warriors are down by 14 points, and all the momentum belongs to Kareem, Magic, and their Southland crew. Then, without warning, Warrior guard Sleepy Floyd awakens in the fourth quarter. So does the Oakland Coliseum Arena as Floyd knocks down shot after shot after shot. Floyd literally wills the Warriors to victory, prompting the team’s radio announcer to proclaim: “Sleepy Floyd is Superman” radio call. By the final buzzer, Floyd records the greatest one-man, fourth-quarter barrage in NBA history with 29 points. It’s a fourth-quarter performance for the ages that wows, then stuns, and ultimately gobsmacks everyone on hand, sending them home on an adrenaline high like no other in recent Warrior memory. Back at…