Mr. Big Shot

In most of his seven seasons with the Lakers, Robert Horry seized the biggest moments, his knack for making clutch shots almost uncanny.

None, though, was more memorable than the buzzer-beating three-point basket that buried the Sacramento Kings in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals two years ago, catapulting the Lakers to their third consecutive NBA title.

Playoff time, it always seemed, was Horry’s cue to spike the energy level, crank up the productivity.

Last spring, however, he was unable to turn on the magic.

He missed 36 of 38 three-point shots in the playoffs, none more heartbreakingly than a fate-changing three-point shot at the buzzer that rattled around the rim and dropped out in Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals.

The San Antonio Spurs, who had squandered all but the last two points of a 25-point lead, breathed a sigh of relief, closed out the Lakers in Game 6 at Staples Center and won the NBA championship, their second in five seasons.

The Lakers retooled over the summer, bringing in Karl Malone and Gary Payton and cutting Horry loose.

Horry, whose career included two championships won alongside Hakeem Olajuwon in Houston and three alongside Shaquille O’Neal, landed in San Antonio, of all places, where he plays alongside Tim Duncan.

“I know how to coattail, don’t I?” he asked a reporter.

He also apparently still knows how to rise to the occasion, last year’s struggles notwithstanding, and just in time for a visit from his former team.

In the Spurs’ first-round sweep of the Memphis Grizzlies, setting up a conference-semifinal rematch with the Lakers starting Sunday at San Antonio, Horry averaged 11 points and 8.3 rebounds in 25 minutes. The 6-foot-10 reserve forward made 61.5% of his shots, six of 10 from beyond the three-point arc.

“He makes some unbelievably big shots in these games,” Spur Coach Gregg Popovich marveled after Horry had made four of five three-pointers and scored 14 points in Sunday’s series-clinching Game 4 victory.

This after a regular season in which Horry, a 12-year veteran, averaged 4.8 points, 3.4 rebounds and fewer than 16 minutes, all career lows.

“He really loves this time of year and brings a lot of energy, brings a lot of basketball knowledge,” Popovich said. “He really understands how to play the game, knows what it takes to win. And he complements Timmy very well. He’s an unselfish player. He’s just a very good teammate.”

He was a good teammate with the Lakers too, but after making only 28.8% of his three-point shots last season, he knew his time probably was up.

With a chance not only to move closer to his family in Houston, but also to add to his ring collection, Horry eagerly signed with the Spurs, who welcomed his basketball IQ, calm demeanor and, of course, his playoff savvy.

He missed his friends, but not the daily Laker melodrama.

Asked the key to the Spurs’ success, he said, “I think the fact that you have so many great guys on the team. In L.A., you had a situation where the guys are great, but they don’t usually hang together.

“Like, we’d have team dinners and only a couple guys would show up. Here, if we have a team dinner, all the guys show up. There’s more of a closeness here; there are no individuals. Everybody just wants to be a part of a winning program.”

That includes Horry, who relishes playoff basketball.

“People don’t realize that you get a lot of energy from fans, things of that nature,” he said of his ability to raise the level of his play in crunch time. “During the playoffs, the fans are probably just as excited as the players, so you use that as your drive in all the things that you do. I’ve been enjoying it.”

Experience helps too.

“That has a lot to do with it, and a lot of it has to do with being on a good team,” he said. “I’m on a really good team. I’ve been very fortunate: In 12 years I’ve been on 12 good teams; all had a chance to win championships.

“It’s not like being on a team where you know you’d be lucky to get past the first round. I’ve been on legit contenders, and it’s been fun.”

If not for an errant shot last May, in which the Laker championship run hung in the air as the ball arched toward the rim, Horry might still be playing for a legit contender, only he’d still be wearing purple and gold instead of silver and black.

He is reminded often of that shot.

“People always ask about it,” he said. “I’m the type person, whatever happens, happens. If it goes in, it goes in. If it don’t, I’m still going to enjoy myself.”

Had it gone in, fate might have been altered drastically.

Horry might still be in Los Angeles, Malone in San Antonio. The Spurs might still be trying to take the title from the Lakers, instead of vice versa.

Said Horry: “You never know.”

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Last-Minute Man

A few of Horry’s biggest shots in playoffs as a Laker:

2001 NBA FINALS VS. PHILADELPHIA

Game 3 -- Lakers, 96-91 (won series, 4-1)

* Horry scored seven points in the final minute, including a three-point basket from the corner that gave the Lakers a 92-88 lead with 47 seconds left on their way to a 2-1 series lead.

2002 FIRST ROUND VS. PORTLAND

Game 3 -- Lakers, 92-91 (won series, 3-0)

* Horry made a three-point basket from the corner off a pass from Kobe Bryant with 2.1 seconds left to eliminate the Trail Blazers.

2002 CONF. FINALS VS. SACRAMENTO

Game 4 -- Lakers, 100-99 (won series, 4-3)

* Horry’s game-winning three-point basket at the buzzer from the top of the key capped the Lakers’ 24-point comeback and evened the series, 2-2.

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Stepping Up

Robert Horry has a reputation for being a clutch player and his overall numbers in the NBA playoffs prove it. Horry has made 16 of his 26 shots from the field and six of 10 from three-point range this postseason for the San Antonio Spurs. A look at Horry’s per-game statistics in the regular season and in the playoffs during his 12-year career.

*--* Season Categories Playoffs 26.6 Minutes 31.7 7.7 Points 9.2 5.2 Rebounds 6.2 2.4 Assists 2.8 43.2 FG Percentage 43.3 34.1 3-pt FG Percentage 35.5 1.1 Steals 1.3 1.0 Blocks 0.9 1.4 Turnovers 1.3

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