GAME 6: Spurs 88 – Nets 77
SAN ANTONIO – Last year, the end came amid disappointment that was at least tempered by the value of experience and the promise of brighter future.
This year, there was only disappointment.
The Nets served as the NBA Finals bridesmaids for a second straight year as the Spurs exploded with unbridled ferocity, forging a devastating 19-0 run over a 4:54 span of the fourth quarter that negated all the positives the Nets managed for three-plus quarters. When the Nets went bad, they went rancid as they again had no answer for Finals MVP Tim Duncan, who produced a triple-double to lead San Antonio to the 88-77 victory.
“I think we played extremely hard in this series, with a lot of energy. When you look at how this series [went], they could have won every game and I think we could have won every game but the first one,” said Nets team president Rod Thorn.
Last year, the Nets couldn’t match Shaquille O’Neal as the Lakers swept them in four games. This time, Duncan was the unstoppable force. He completed his masterful Finals with 21 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists – he also had eight blocks, as he threatened a quadruple-double.
Jason Kidd, in conceivably his last game in a New Jersey uniform pending the outcome of his free agency, scored 21 points. Kerry Kittles scored 16 for the Nets. Kenyon Martin, vowing a bounce back game, had a miserable shooting night: 3-of-23 while taking 10 rebounds.
David Robinson, in the final game of his Hall of Fame career, went out with a double-double of 13 points and 17 rebounds.
But the bottom line was a story of Net offensive futility. They led by 10 with 10:33 to go and by nine with 8:55 remaining. But they missed six straight shots and 12-of-13 as the Spurs piled it on
All night, the Nets threatened to pull away but all night, the Spurs kept them within reach. After a massive 3-pointer by Rodney Rogers at 8:55 – made possible through the loose ball-gathering hustle of Kidd – gave the Nets in a 72-63 lead, the wheels started coming off. Malik Rose hit two free throws, found an opening for an unbelievably open layup and then Stephen Jackson bagged a 3-pointer and it was 72-70, Nets. Timeout.
But it didn’t stop the Spurs. Jackson hit another three for the lead, the Spurs’ first of the game, Robinson scored on a put-back, Speedy Claxton bagged a left side jumper and it was 77-72, Spurs. Timeout again.
Still nothing. Except another Jackson 3-pointer, off a kick-out by Duncan for the 10th assist that completed his triple-double. Claxton scored again before Kidd ended the Nets’ field goal drought at 3:21 with a jumper, their first in 5:34. But it was 82-74 and momentum – and Duncan – were with the Spurs.
Earlier, things were different.
Kidd, looking like he was in one of those “Thou shalt not lose” modes for his mates, scored two quick hoops and, with a Dikembe Mutombo tap, the Nets were up 10 in the third. Duncan responded for the Spurs and then Richard Jefferson, in a lazy moment, was cleanly picked by Manu Ginobili who drove and scored making it 69-63 at 9:56.
With the fans in an utter frenzy as their beloved Spurs wiped away a 10-point deficit and pulled even through the inside strength of Duncan, Kidd silenced them just a bit with a 3-pointer :18.3 before the half to provide what stood as the intermission score, 41-38. The Spurs had run off an 8-0 streak, with Duncan and the grand veteran, Robinson, evenly splitting the total.
