"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times," Charles Dickens famously began his novel "A Tale of Two Cities."
That could aptly describe the Miami Heat's 2013 NBA Finals run as well, a back-and-forth seven-game battle against the San Antonio Spurs that ultimately culminated in their second straight championship.
From Dwyane Wade's dunk to open the scoring in Game 1 to LeBron James' emphatic block of Tiago Splitter in Game 2 to Ray Allen's 3-pointer in Game 6 that kept the Heat's title hopes alive, the series was filled with memorable plays.
Here's our list of the top 10 Heat moments of the NBA Finals:
No. 10 -- Dwyane Wade opens the Finals with a slam dunk (Game 1)
The NBA Finals opened with a bang from the Miami Heat as Chris Bosh knocked the ball to Mario Chalmers, who started the fast break and dished to LeBron James, who found Dwyane Wade, who slammed it down for the first two points of the game.
No. 9 -- Blocks, blocks and more blocks (Game 4)
The Heat went wild with seven blocked shots in Game 4. LeBron James and Chris Bosh had two each, while Dwyane Wade, Mike Miller and Shane Battier also got in on the fun during Miami's 109-93 victory.
No. 8 -- Mario Chalmers beats the buzzer (Game 7)
This proved to be one of the biggest plays of Game 7. The Spurs had just retaken the lead with 5.2 seconds left in the third quarter and looked to have momentum on their side, but Mario Chalmers raced up court and banked in a 3-pointer before the buzzer to put the Heat ahead 72-71, a lead they would not relinquish the remainder of the game.
No. 7 -- Mike Miller loses a shoe, makes a 3 (Game 6)
As close as Game 6 turned out to be, this proved to be a very pivotal play. Miller lost his shoe after being stepped on playing defense, but did he call for a timeout? Heck no. He ran down the court, tossed his shoe to the bench, ran back across the court, where LeBron James found him for a wide-open 3-pointer, which cut the Heat deficit to four points early in the fourth quarter.
No. 6 -- Chris Bosh game-ending block (Game 6)
Chris Bosh had several big plays in the late stages of Game 6. He came up with a huge rebound before Ray Allen's game tying 3-pointer. He had a sweet layup and key block of a Tony Parker shot in overtime. And he culminated it all by rejecting Danny Green's last-second 3-point attempt.
No. 5 -- LeBron James loses his headband (Game 6)
You never see LeBron James without his headband. Usually when it gets knocked off, he finds it and puts it right back on. However, when it was stripped off with 9 1/2 minutes left in the fourth quarter of Game 6, it stayed off and James played some of his best ball of the game as the Heat staged a furious rally from a 13-point deficit. With the headband off, James scored 14 points (on 6 of 12 shots), grabbed four rebounds and dished out four assists. He'd finish the night with 32 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists.
No. 4 -- Dwyane Wade's steal and dunk (Game 4)
Game 4 was vintage Dwyane Wade as he hit 14 of 25 shots for 32 points. He also had a game-high six steals. He put it all together in the following highlight, getting the steal and the dunk to put the Heat ahead 90-81 early in the fourth quarter.
No. 3 -- LeBron James with the championship dagger (Game 7)
LeBron James had a fantastic Game 7, scoring 37 points — including hitting 5 of 10 shots from 3-point range — and grabbing 12 rebounds. But it was his pull-up jumper over the top of Kawhi Leonard with 27.9 seconds left that all but sealed the Heat's second straight championship.
No. 2 -- LeBron James rejects Tiago Splitter (Game 2)
This was actually a huge sequence for the Heat. First James came up with one of the most memorable blocks of all time on Tiago Splitter, which eventually led a 3-pointer from Ray Allen on the other end. On the ensuing Spurs possession, James knocked the ball loose, Mike Miller got it and flipped it over his head to James, who finished with a slam, giving the Heat a 91-67 lead in the middle of the fourth quater of Game 2.
No. 1 -- Ray Allen's game-tying 3 (Game 6)
Some fans had already began filing out of AmericanAirlines, figuring a five-point deficit with 28 seconds left was too much to overcome in Game 6. Fortunately, Heat players did not share the same mindset. First LeBron James hit a 3-pointer with 20 seconds to go to pull the Heat within 2. When San Antonio's Kawhi Leonard missed the first of his two free-throw attempts, it left the door open. James missed a 3-point attempt, but Chris Bosh was able to corral the rebound and find Ray Allen, who stepped back and sunk a 3-pointer that tied it up with 5.2 seconds left. The Heat would go on win 103-100 in overtime.
