LOS ANGELES, 15 May 2004 — In an unbelievable finish featuring last-minute heroics, Derek Fisher was the unlikely hero.
Fisher took an in-bounds pass with just four-tenths of a second left and swished the game-winning 18-foot jumper to lift the Los Angeles Lakers to a thrilling 74-73 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday night for a 3-2 lead in their Western Conference semifinal series.
“I’ve been waiting for an opportunity to get one like that,” said Fisher, who finished with eight points off the bench. “For all the kids watching the game, you dream about that growing up. Being in that position, being able to make the shot.”
“Unfortunate, incredible,” said emotionally drained Spurs’ all-star forward Tim Duncan, who had 21 points, including a near-incredible basket of his own in the final seconds, along with 21 rebounds. “There’s not much else you can say about it. It’s just an incredible shot.”
Kobe Bryant had 22 points, Devean George added 16, while foul-plagued Shaquille O’Neal finished with just 11 points and 11 rebounds for the Lakers, who have won three straight games.
Thanks to Fisher’s heroics, the Lakers return home where they can close out the defending champions today night, and become the eighth team in playoff history to win seven-game series after falling into an 0-2 hole.
The Lakers had never won a playoff game at SBC Center in five tries, but looked to be on their way to breaking through, after building a 16-point cushion late in the third quarter.
The Spurs stormed back, however. They took a 73-72 lead with four-tenths of a second left, when Duncan made an off-balance 18-foot jumper just inside the arc over O’Neal while falling to the floor that sent the crowd into an early celebration.
“I couldn’t believe it went in,” Duncan said. “They played the dribble handoff great. I let it go as high as I could, knowing that Shaq was there.”
That was short-lived, however. The Lakers called a quick timeout to set up a final shot for O’Neal or Bryant. With both stars heavily guarded, Gary Payton found Fisher on the left side. In one motion, he quickly launched a left-handed rainbow jumper over Manu Ginobili that capped the drama and stunned the fans.
“Most times the play is not for me,” Fisher said. “Even though I can make shots, we’re going to Shaq and Kobe automatically. But they covered those two guys, I came up, Gary gave me a great pass and turned the shot.”
“One lucky shot deserves another,” O’Neal said. “Duncan hit a great shot. And then Derek got the ball, threw up a lucky shot, and we win the game.”
Though Fisher and his teammates raced off the court with joy and assurance, the referees had to review the final play on a courtside monitor to see if it beat the final buzzer. When they ruled it was good, the fans let out with Texas-sized boos.
“I just wanted to get out of there before they can try to reverse it,” Fisher added.
Tony Parker scored 15 points, while reserves Devin Brown and Ginobili had 11 and eight, respectively for San Antonio, which finds itself on the brink of elimination. “You win or go home,” Duncan added. “We want to win and come home for Game Seven.”’
When asked to summarize the heart-breaking defeat, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said, “This is the cruelest loss I’ve ever been involved with. But given the choice, if something bad is going to happen to you, that’s better than being in Iraq.”
