Spurs Win Series, 4-3
In Final Hour, Star Shines Brightest
By LIZ ROBBINS Published: June 24, 2005 SAN ANTONIO, June 23 - When the defending champion Detroit Pistons were storming toward a repeat and critics' whispers were growing louder, Tim Duncan grew more determined to take over Game 7 of the N.B.A. finals. Duncan found his bank shot in the third quarter, opened the floor for his San Antonio Spurs teammates on the perimeter and pulled down rebounds like a man who was ready to regain the mantle of a great player who had been quietly slipping.
After struggling to score 8 points in the first half, Duncan popped in 17 points in the final 18 minutes, leading the Spurs to an 81-74 victory Thursday night at the S.B.C. Center.
The Pistons, a resilient and unselfish group of players, forced the N.B.A. finals into a Game 7 for the first time in 11 years, but it was Duncan, who had led the Spurs to their first two titles in 1999 and 2003, who proved he was worthy of superstar status. He collected his third Most Valuable Player award, joining Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan and Shaquille O'Neal as players who had won three or more of them.
"I got on a roll there for a little while, my shot felt good, things started to go down for me," said Duncan, who added 11 rebounds, giving him an average of 20.5 points and 14.1 rebounds for the series.
There were times - especially when he was shooting 4 of 15 midway through the third quarter - when Duncan knew he was not playing well. "I felt the game was going bad for me, but it was about pushing through and persevering," he said. "My teammates continued to throw the ball in to me. They were more confident in me than I was. I got one to fall, two to fall and things started happening."
Manu Ginóbili scored 11 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter and capped an incredible year that started with an Olympic gold medal in Athens and ended with his second N.B.A. title.
Robert Horry scored 15 points and had 5 rebounds, becoming one of only 12 players to win six championship rings, joining Bill Russell (11 rings) and seven other Celtics, Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Kareem Abdul-Jabar. He is now a perfect 6-0 whenever he has the chance to win a championship.
"We didn't do anything special we hadn't done in the first six games," Duncan said. "We did it the right way, we proved we could get it done."
That had been the mantra of the Pistons, who were trying to become the first team since the 2-3-2 format began in 1985 to win a title by capturing two straight games on the road. The odds finally caught up to them on this night.
The Pistons drove to as much as a 9-point lead early in the third quarter. But Tony Parker hit a jumper and Duncan broke a string of 14 scoreless minutes, igniting his night. Although the Pistons entered the fourth quarter tied at 57-57, Duncan opened the final quarter with a jumper that foreshadowed the ending.
The Pistons walked off the court wordlessly, dazed that after a season of fighting back, there would be no game left to validate their one championship.
"Everyone feels like we let one slip away," Ben Wallace said. "Any time you come this close to winning a championship, it's going to be tough."
Their coach, Larry Brown, likely spent his last game on the Pistons' sidelines. He intends to check into the Mayo Clinic next Wednesday to determine whether his health concerns will stop him from coaching.
A front-office job in Cleveland awaits him, but he did not want to think about his future.
"We talked about us playing the right way last year, but there's a perfect example over there of playing the right way," Brown said. After the game, his counterpart, Gregg Popovich embraced him warmly, thanking Brown for giving him his first coaching job. Popovich surpassed his mentor by winning his third title.
After four blowouts to start the series, one incredible shot from Horry to win Game 5 and one gutsy game for the Pistons in San Antonio, this final contest at times featured jagged play and shrill whistles, especially in the first half.
Rasheed Wallace picked up his fourth foul 51 seconds into the third quarter and the Pistons missed his aggressiveness. The Spurs took advantage, Duncan especially. "He started to play really well, to dominate, making a lot of field goals," Ginóbili said. "I don't know if it was about the critics. He is always so hard on himself when he does play well. I knew he was going to show up and play well tonight. That shows what kind of a person he is."
When the Pistons cut the Spurs lead to 4 points with 5 minutes 17 seconds to play, Duncan responded by drilling a baseline jumper. When Chauncey Billups made a jumper and Duncan was then double-teamed on the next play, he found Ginobili alone atop the arc for a 3-pointer and a 72-63 Spurs lead.
Billups had a chance to make the big shot with 55.9 seconds left and the Pistons trailing by 5 points. But Bruce Bowen was there for the block, making sure Detroit had no chance.
Soon the streamers cascaded onto the court and the Spurs hoisted the trophy for the second time in three years. "It's just so unfortunate that others doubted what he was capable of doing," Bowen said. "That's fine, we understood what we had in him."
