Best Game Ever: Tobias Harris talks winning the battle for Long Island

Dan Woike asked NBA players to tell us about the best game in their basketball career. This week:Tobias Harris

March 3, 2010: Hills West High 77, Longwood High 69

25 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists

As a sophomore in high school, Tobias Harris scored 51 points, the basket seemingly as big as Long Island every time he launched a shot. The Clippers forward and possible All-Star thought that was his best game ever — until he gave it a little more thought. Instead he chose a game from his senior year, a rivalry game that he still hears about when he’s back home in New York.

“The best game? It was senior year. Long Island championship, us versus Longwood. I’ve got to set the scene. Both teams were undefeated (Longwood had lost twice that season, but both games were in an out-of-state tournament), it was the battle of the Island, pretty much. There was a lot of junk-talkin’ leading up to the game — even to this day. People from Longwood in Long Island still hold a grudge against me, you know? It was an intense game, back and forth. We heard they had to turn away 2,500 people. It was played at Farmingdale State, a college. Everybody was there. One side was Longwood; the other side, my school, the Hills West fans. And every play, it was rocking. That was my favorite game. I’ll never forget that game. They were playing some crazy defense on us but I eventually picked up in the fourth quarter. My little brother was on my team and he hit a big three for us. You can find some clips out there.”

dan.woike@latimes.com

Twitter: @DanWoikeSports