That Should Take the Spurs’ Breath Away

Through the eerie Alamodome calm he walked, his face tightened in frustration and lowered in shame.

With a few glowing ticks remaining on the clock Monday, Tim Duncan left the court utterly finished, even if the game wasn’t.

“I don’t know what it is,” he said softly. “I don’t know what it is.”

Through the same eerie calm, the other guys stalked, barely smiling, thoroughly scorning.

The Lakers left the same court not simply as winners, but captors, the San Antonio Spurs’ labored breaths held tightly in their hands.

If Tim Duncan would ever get the nerve ask, the Lakers would stare him in those lost eyes and tell him exactly what it is.

“There’s a definite sense,” said Rick Fox, “that we have turned into assassins.”

At least someone still has a remaining sense. The rest of the house was numb Monday after the Lakers lost their coach, lost the battle at the free-throw line by 13 points, nearly lost their hearing amid much screaming desperation. . .

And yet still outscored the Spurs in the final, floor-burning moments for an 88-81 victory to take a two-games-to-none lead in the Western Conference finals.

It’s over with, of course. This series, this postseason, the Lakers now seemingly predestined for a second consecutive championship.

But Monday night, it was about more than that.

It was about this: “That was the most adverse situation we’ve been in, in a very long time,” Derek Fisher said. “And we responded the way championship teams have to.”

This was the Spurs’ best shot. This was their only chance.

If they couldn’t beat the Lakers here after knocking around Shaquille O’Neal and bloodying Robert Horry and frustrating Phil Jackson, can they beat them this weekend at Staples Center?

The answer is no, but predicting a series victory now is like a San Diego weather forecaster predicting sunshine.

Of course, the Lakers are advancing to the NBA finals. And, of course, it will take an upset the size of Shaq’s shoes for either the Philadelphia 76ers or Milwaukee Bucks to beat them in the finals.

“We ain’t going nowhere,” said Ron Harper, whose tight hugs of the Laker starting guards before every playoff game are symbolic of the grip his teammates later apply to their opponents. “This is our time of the year, and we ain’t going anywhere.”

Of course they’re not.

Yet what seemed to matter here was not the shaping of the rest of the season, but the shaping of a legacy. It is not only about another title, but about the manner in which the Lakers are grabbing it.

You know, with things like 50 consecutive losing-free days, nine consecutive playoff victories, and a legitimate chance to become the first team since the NBA’s current playoff system began in 1985 to go unbeaten in the postseason.

It is about a legacy that silences those who still question the toughness of our town’s teams and alters those opposing chants.

Watching these Lakers, one is not inclined to beg one’s team to, “Beat L.A.”

Rather, it is “Survive L.A.”

“We understand now what defending a championship is all about,” said Jim Cleamons, the assistant coach who led the team to a 34-21 edge after Jackson was ejected late in the third quarter for complaining about rough Spur play.

It was rough indeed. Duncan and David Robinson chased O’Neal through the lane. Others poked and prodded at Kobe Bryant. The Spurs pushed the Lakers around enough to take a 14-point lead in the first half, the largest Laker deficit of the playoffs.

“We showed them that we will stand up for ourselves,” Antonio Daniels said.

And the Lakers showed that it didn’t matter. They showed that looks don’t matter and feelings don’t matter.

This team once known for egos and eccentricities showed that when it counts, nothing matters but the winning.

“I guess we are kind of cold-blooded about it,” Fox said.

So cold, when you remember these 2000-2001 Lakers, you will remember not those plays that made you jump, but those that gave you chills.

Score tied, 76-76, with six minutes remaining Monday, you will remember wild-haired Fox.

“I took a pass, turned the corner, and saw lane,” Fox said. “I thought Duncan would be guarding me. He wasn’t. I went for it.”

His layup gave the Lakers the lead.

You will then remember Bryant adding to the lead with an impossible spinning layup, then an intimidating three-point shot in which he finished with his right arm frozen in the air like, well, you figure it out.

“I got the ball, took my time, let them make a decision,” said Bryant of his three-pointer, which came as he stood alone in front of a strangely still Spur defense.

Bryant smiled. “They decided to let me shoot.”

You also will remember, with the Lakers leading by seven, Fisher throwing in a three-pointer and happily, defiantly, skipping back downcourt.

“In close games, nip and tuck, in the final five minutes, it’s all about execution,” said the Spurs’ Terry Porter, who missed three jump shots down the stretch. “They executed.”

Did they ever.

Finally, you will remember Robert Horry, that thin and flighty forward who was enlisted to guard Duncan after the Spur star made 12 of 18 shots in the first half.

In the second half, Duncan was three for eight.

Horry didn’t stop him with spotlights, or starlets, or a surfboard. He didn’t overcome the way everyone has long thought that Los Angeles teams overcome.

He did it in a crouch.

“I stayed down, I stayed in front, I didn’t play with my hands,” he said.

Except the part about the strangling.

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Bill Plaschke can be reached at his e-mail address: bill.plaschke@latimes.com.