| Big Shot Bob Strikes Again Authored by Graham Flashner - June 20, 2005 - 2:05 am
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As for the Detroit Pistons, they can only wonder how they got fooled by what will come to be remembered as the greatest decoy since the Allies landed at Normandy, not Calais. Leading 95-93 with 9.4 seconds remaining in overtime, they left Robert Horry open on an inbounds play that they were sure was designed for Manu Ginobili. Why were they so sure? Well, for one thing, the ball went into Ginobili. For another, it was Ginobili who sped down the lane for what was supposed to be the winning shot at the end of regulation, only to be foiled by Big Block Ben.
So you couldn’t totally blame Rasheed Wallace for racing over to double-team the wily Argentinean in the corner, hoping to squash him like a bug.
You couldn’t blame him, that is, until you realized that Sheed’s man was Robert Horry, a
three-point shooter more lethal than the married assassins of “Mr. and Mrs. Smith”, a man who had already scored 13 points in the fourth quarter, nine of them on the clutchest treys you could imagine.
And yet, there he was, wide open at the left key, the Pistons’ dream of a defensive stop shattered by one smooth pass from Manu, and one last bomb from Big Shot Bob.
No one was happier for Horry’s heroics than Tim Duncan, who went ice cold in the fourth quarter (must’ve been the sprained ankles), at one point missing six straight free throws, and a putback on Ginobili’s miss at the end of regulation.
Overtime wasn’t much better for Rim Shot Tim, who lost the handle on a pass into the post and missed the Spurs first two shots. Even so, the Spurs wouldn’t have gotten to OT without Duncan, who reasserted himself with 26 points and 19 rebounds.
But they wouldn’t have won without Horry, whose most spectacular play came on a three-point shot that he didn’t take. With the Spurs trailing 95-91 and in critical need of a hoop, Horry squared up for a three, only to be disrupted by Wallace. But instead of passing, Horry drove, soaring through the air for a Jordanesque dunk, left arm fully extended.
After that, the Pistons still had two chances to ice it. But Chauncey Billups (34 points) missed on two low-percentage shots made difficult by Bruce Bowen, who had switched over from Rip Hamilton in a genius move by Gregg Popovich. And even after Big Shot Bob’s coup de grace, they still had a final chance to win it, though everyone at the Palace must’ve known that destiny had already shown its hand.
It was the classic game that everyone had been waiting all series for, and the Pistons had it in their grasp. Now, they have the unenviable task of having to win two straight games in San Antonio. But if they want to do that, they’ll have to turn Big Shot Bob into No Siree Bob. |
