The playoffs is where pressure is at its peak – defenses are tighter, fouls are harder, and shots are tougher to hit. It’s the stage where legends are born, honed, and solidified, and where mythical moments occur.

The most recent legendary battle happened between Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell and his Denver Nuggets counterpart, Jamal Murray, who just got done battling in a seven-game series. Murray and the Nuggets won, 4-3, after rallying from a 3-1 deficit.

While both are not seen as megastars yet, they sure showcased superstar play. The two went toe-to-toe in Games 4, 5, and 6, became the first playoff opponents to each have a pair of 50-point games in a postseason series.

That’s not all too. By the matchups’ end, Mitchell has set the record for most threes in a playoff series, with 33, and Murray is right behind him at 32. They edged out the mark set by Stephen Curry during the 2016 NBA Finals, which also reached seven games.

They both came back down to earth in Game 7, but history will look favorably on the show they put on over the entire series.

But where does their battle rank all-time, and who are they up against anyway? Let’s take a look at the five best. We’ll let you decide if Mitchell and Murray belong in the same conversation.

Bernard King (NYK) vs. Isiah Thomas (DET) – Game 5, 1984 Eastern Conference First Round

Bernard King was already a star at this point, a ferocious scorer who had his game face on at all times. Isiah Thomas, meanwhile, was still building his legacy and was in his first playoff series.

It was a do-or-die battle, and King and his Knicks had the game in their hands for 46 minutes. which was two minutes short. Thomas officially made it a duel in crunch time as he unloaded 16 points in the final 94 seconds to counter the game-long domination that King did.

In the end, though, the Knicks held on in overtime, 127-123. King had 44 points on 17-for-26 shooting, while Thomas finished with 35.

Michael Jordan (CHI) vs. Charles Barkley (PHX) – Game 2, 1993 NBA Finals

Michael Jordan and the Bulls were gunning for their first three-peat in 1993. While the firepower was certainly there, they also looked vulnerable more than ever. Everyone knew how tough Charles Barkley and the Suns would be, especially with homecourt advantage.

The Bulls stole Game 1 so Game 2 became an absolute war for the Suns, which then led to the Jordan vs. Barkley match-up hitting its peak. They traded big basket after big basket, and both ended up with 42 points. Chicago got the upper hand again too, winning 111-108.

MJ and company finished the job in six games to complete their first of two three-peats in the decade.

Paul Pierce (BOS) vs. LeBron James (CLE) – Game 7, 2008 Eastern Conference Semifinals

Like the Bernard-Thomas duel, the Pierce-James duel in ’08 featured a battle of two stars in different phases of their careers. Pierce was the more experienced and established player and had two future Hall-of-Fame teammates too. James, on the other hand, was still weaving his way into becoming a true superstar leader, and the finals appearance in the year prior was deemed to be a massive overachievement.

Nevertheless, James and the Cavs managed to extend the series into a Game 7. As always, James did the heavy-lifting as he had 45 points to keep Cleveland in the game – his 14 field goals almost matched what his entire team collectively had (16).

However, it just wasn’t his time – it was Pierce, Ray Allen, and Kevin Garnett’s. Pierce went mano y mano with James by scoring 41 points and hitting clutch jumpers.

The Celtics won, 97-92 and went on to win the 2008 NBA title.

Allen Iverson (PHI) vs. Vince Carter (TOR) – 2001 Eastern Conference Semifinals

The Murray-Mitchell battle mirrored this duel as it spanned the entire series. Allen Iverson and Vince Carter just exchanged one record-setting performance after the other. The legend grew further as they eventually became two of the most beloved superstars of their generation.

This is how the epic back-and-forth transpired: Iverson scored 54 in Game 2 on 21-for-39 shooting, Carter responded in Game 3 with 50 points and a franchise-record nine threes (still stands today), and Iverson fired back in Game 5 with 52 points on 21-for-32 shooting (65.6%) with only one turnover.

AI and the Sixers won the series and eventually reached the finals, where they fell to the Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant-led Los Angeles Lakers.

Larry Bird (BOS) and Dominique Wilkins (ATL) – Game 7, 1998 Eastern Conference Semifinals

Though this list is without any ranking, it might be safe to say that the Larry Bird-Dominique Wilkins duel of ’88 rivals any of the rest for the top spot. It was just an all-out scoring duel between two all-time players in their primes.

There was bucket after bucket after bucket, especially in crunch time. Wilkins, known mostly for his rim-rattling dunks, was simply superb. He unleashed 47 points on an efficient 19-for-33 shooting, 14 of which came in the fourth quarter. Bird, not to be outdone in the final period and in a knockout game, rose to the occasion and dropped 20 of his 34 points in the quarter.

Bird and the Celtics eventually escaped with a 118-116 victory, but bowed out in the East Finals against the Detroit Pistons.