Three-Point Landing by Horry Misses Mark

With the final seconds of Game 5 ticking down, Robert Horry squared to the basket, in the spot between the three-point arc and the NBA PLAYOFFS decal on the floor.

The situation made the words behind him unnecessary. If it’s Robert Horry taking a three-pointer to win the game, it must be the NBA playoffs. It’s a part of springtime, like flowers, the Kentucky Derby and Memorial Day weekend barbecues. Robert Horry shoots, it’s good, the Lakers move on.

Right?

Superman would never leave Lois Lane hanging and Horry would never let the Lakers down in this situation.

Right?

You didn’t even have to be with the Lakers for that Game 4 buzzer-beater against Sacramento in last year’s Western Conference finals, or the first-round finisher against Portland, or the knockout punch he delivered in Rocky’s hometown two years ago. If you knew anything about Horry at all, you knew this was his time.

Right?

So here were the Lakers, the remnants of a 25-point San Antonio lead down to two points in the final minute. There was Kobe Bryant, being forced into the left corner by Bruce Bowen. Tim Duncan left Horry to rotate defensively. One moment, Bryant’s in trouble. Then he passed out to a wide-open Horry, and it was the Spurs who were in jeopardy, their big lead and their home-court advantage in the series about to be wiped out with one shot.

“It was scary once he got it,” Spur reserve guard Steve Smith said. “I said, ‘Aw, there’s Rob, getting his feet set.’ ”

That’s supposed to be doom for the opposition.

“I got a good shot, I got a good look,” Horry said. “I had my feet set. I did everything right.”

We’ll finish that thought in a moment.

The clock was inside of five seconds remaining when Horry released his shot.

“It looked like perfect arc on the ball,” Bryant said. “Good rotation. It looked like it was going down.”

There were inside of four seconds left when the ball was inside the basket. And then, it bounced from one side of the rim to the other. And bounced away, harmlessly.

You could hear Chick Hearn’s words coming down from high above the western sideline and reverberating throughout Lakerland: “In and out, heartbrrrrrrrreak!”

“I did everything right ... ,” Horry was saying. “I just didn’t make the shot.”

He hasn’t been making many shots throughout these playoffs. He was 26 for 78 (33%), including two for 29 on three-pointers in the first 10 games. Then he shot three for 10 and 0 for 6 on three-pointers in Game 5.

“That’s how my luck’s been going this series,” Horry said. “It’s been in and out.

“That’s what I’m supposed to be known for, to hit the shots in the playoffs. This series, it just hasn’t been happening for me.

“If you look at the whole series, the San Antonio series, the Minnesota series, I’m not shooting the ball well.”

Look at the whole season, actually. Horry hasn’t shot well, but that was supposed to change come April. The fans at Staples Center keep waiting for that moment. They rise and ooh and ahh whenever Horry has a chance to make a backbreaking three-pointer at home games, and he hasn’t come through. Both of his three-pointers came in the second quarter of an almost-forgotten Game 5 of the Minnesota series.

But the playoffs offer quick devotion, like a drive-through Vegas wedding chapel.

Make one shot at the right time in the playoffs and all is forgiven.

When Horry jumped up and yelled after his shot missed -- showing far more emotion than he did when he made the season-saving shot against Sacramento last year -- you could tell it was the frustration of a whole season coming out.

“To be honest with you, it was so disappointing it made me want to shed a tear,” Horry said. “You get a reputation for playing in the playoffs, and then it’s not happening for you. It’s very disappointing.”

He isn’t shooting well and he knows it. Lately when he takes a jumper it’s as a last resort. It’s gotten to the point that Laker fans yell out in frustration when he passes up shots.

He knew he might be called on in crunch time. He even told Coach Phil Jackson to put him on the Lakers’ last defensive stand, when they were going to foul to stop the clock, because he wanted to get warmed up for a potential game-winner or game-tying shot. Mark Madsen was actually on the court when the Lakers broke their huddle, then Horry rushed out, grabbed Madsen and took off his warmup shirt.

For a moment, it appeared Horry was on the money again.

“You couldn’t have got a better shot off,” Horry said. “I did everything right.”

Perhaps it’s the pressure of not only trying to save the Quattro Quest, but his own job as well. The Lakers hold the option on Horry’s contract for next year, and you have to wonder if it’s weighing on him, making him press even harder, altering that shot just enough.

“Uhhhh, we’ll talk about that later,” Horry said.

There’ll be plenty of time to talk. Will there be another Horry shot?

Is this how it ends? It can’t finish up with Horry missing?

Right?

*

J.A. Adande can be reached at j.a.adande@latimes.com.