There are no photos, no film. Only long-since yellowed newspaper clippings remain.

On Nov. 13, 1967, with the American Basketball Association a month into its first season and the Indiana Pacers playing at Dallas, it was desperation time. The Pacers trailed 118-116 with 2 seconds left after Charles Beasley of the hometown Chaparrals hit a corner jumper.

Indiana's Ollie Darden inbounded to Jerry Harkness, standing under his own basket. With nothing else to do, Harkness let fly a one-handed heave while the Chaparrals were busy celebrating their apparent win.

"Everybody in the place was screaming," Harkness recalled. "When it left my hand, all their players were jumping around because of Beasley's shot. It hit the back of the backboard and went in. Everybody in the place just froze. Everybody was silent.

"Then our guys started jumping around, yelling and screaming. At first we were getting ready for overtime because the three-pointer was so new (in the ABA). Then we realized we'd won."

The Pacers won 119-118 on the 88-footer by Harkness, regarded for years as the longest shot in the history of pro basketball.

It's not anymore, with Baron Davis having surpassed Harkness with an 89-foot effort at the third-quarter buzzer when the Charlotte Hornets played Feb. 17, 2001, at Milwaukee. But Harkness' heave just might remain the greatest long shot ever.

There has been ample talk about miraculous missiles since Detroit's Rasheed Wallace banked in a 62-footer at the regulation buzzer that tied Monday's game against the Nuggets, and the Pistons won 113-109 in overtime.

Then, on Wednesday, Washington's Caron Butler banked in a 71-footer at the third-quarter buzzer against Philadelphia.

Davis, now with Golden State, reflected upon his shot, saying it was "lucky" and he just "threw it up." After seeing what Wallace did, Norm Van Lier, a Bulls broadcaster, thought back to the 84-foot first-quarter buzzer-beater he hit Jan. 19, 1977, in San Antonio.

Harkness said Wallace's effort was "awesome." He lives in Indianapolis, where his shot only occasionally comes up.

"It never really got that much publicity," said Harkness, who has the red, white and blue ball from the shot after loaning it for many years to the Basketball Hall of Fame. "There was no video, no photos of it. Nothing."

History's most famous long shot belongs to Los Angeles Lakers' guard Jerry West. His 55-foot two-pointer (three-pointers didn't enter the NBA until 1979-80) at the regulation buzzer in Game 3 of the 1970 Finals tied the score 102-102, but New York won 111-108 in overtime.

Denver native and Pistons guard Chauncey Billups also can lay claim to an impressive long playoff shot, banking one in from halfcourt at the regulation buzzer in Game 5 of a 2004 East semifinal at New Jersey. But the Nets won 127-120 in three overtimes.

"It was kind of similar," said Billups, comparing his shot with Wallace's. "But we lost that game. We won this game."

Nuggets coach George Karl said it the first time he had been beaten by a bomb from beyond halfcourt. But it's not as if Karl hasn't seen his share of long shots.

When Davis drilled his 89-footer, Karl was the opposing coach. It didn't affect the outcome because the Hornets won 113-103.

"It was amazing," Karl said of the shot. "I probably was so mad, I said, 'You lucky son of a (bleep)' . . . I believe there are basketball gods up there."

Those gods also inflicted upon a Karl team the NBA's second- longest shot. It was Van Lier's one-handed chuck 30 years ago, when Karl was a Spurs guard.

Karl doesn't remember it, and the Elias Sports Bureau lists him as a "DNP" in the box score. But Van Lier can recall each detail.

"Time was running out (in the first quarter), and I inbounded the ball to Artis (Gilmore), and he just gave it back," said Van Lier, whose Bulls lost 115-107. "I just threw it like a quarterback does a pass down the sidelines. It hit nothing but net."

Van Lier has done motivational speeches in which he begins by asking, "Who made the longest shot in NBA history?"

Of course, the question gets a different answer now that Davis has knocked out Van Lier.

As for Harkness' shot, some reports called it 92 feet. But Harkness concedes it was 88 since Dallas officials spent the days afterward bringing in measuring equipment to Memorial Auditorium, then put a blue marker on the court to designate the historical significance.

You can read all about it in the yellowed newspaper articles Harkness still has.

At Witt's end

Maybe it was revenge for Dwane Casey.

On Jan. 23, Minnesota made one of the more bizarre moves of the NBA season. They fired Casey, who was doing a solid job, and promoted assistant Randy Wittman, whose previous head coaching experience was helping drive Cleveland into the ground.

Casey was a popular Seattle assistant before leaving in 2005 for Minnesota. Tuesday, the Timberwolves hosted to the SuperSonics.

Minnesota blew a 25-point, third-quarter lead and lost 114-106. All that did was increase wonderment about why Casey was dumped.

The lightly regarded Timberwolves started 20-16 and were 20-20 when Casey was axed, although a Kevin Garnett ejection and suspension played a role in two of those final four defeats. Wittman, had gone 62-102 with the Cavaliers (1999-2000 to 2000-01) after they had been perennial playoff visitors under Mike Fratello.

Heck, that .378 Cleveland winning percentage now looks good. Minnesota is 10-21 (.323) under Wittman.

After Tuesday's game, Frank Hughes of the (Tacoma, Wash.) News Tribune wrote, "Somewhere Dwane Casey . . . was smiling."

Seeding showdown

When Cleveland plays Saturday at Chicago, it could be the biggest game of the NBA regular season.

No kidding.

It might mean the difference between the East's No. 2 or No. 5 seed.

The Cavaliers (43-29) have a one-half game lead over the Bulls (43-30), but Chicago, with a 2-1 series lead, could secure the all-important tiebreaker with a win.

The three division champs and remaining best team get the top four seeds in each conference. Even though the Central Division has the East's three top teams, the third-place finisher can't do better than No. 5.

In the first round, No. 2 meets No. 7, which will be a losing team - New Jersey, Orlando, Indiana or New York. Meanwhile, No. 5, although it could have home- court advantage, will get a toughie at No. 4 - Toronto, Washington or Miami.

No. 5 also is in line to face likely No. 1 Detroit in the second round. No wonder Cleveland's Zydrunas Ilgauskas said Saturday's game "is going to mean a lot."

Long shots

• An unofficial listing of the longest shots in NBA history.

Name Team Opponent Date Distance Quarter

Baron Davis Charlotte at Milwaukee Feb. 17, 2001 89 feet Third

Norm Van Lier Chicago at San Antonio Jan. 19, 1977 84 feet First

LeBron James Cleveland at Boston Jan. 3, 2007 83 feet Third

Herb Williams Indiana vs. Sacramento Jan. 8, 1986 81 feet Second

Zoran Planinic New Jersey vs. Utah Nov. 9, 2005 77 feet ThirdSource: Philadelphia 76ers Statistician Harvey Pollack

tomassonc@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5125

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