Spurs, Pistons Rebound to Go Distance

SAN ANTONIO — Finally, a big finish.

What began as the Western Conference’s annual walkover and continued as the second-lowest rated NBA Finals ever has turned into the biggest thriller of the post-Bulls era, with Game 7 tonight and all participants with goose bumps.

The NCAA championship is decided by one game every year. The NBA had its last one in 1994, when Houston defeated New York.

The one before that was in 1988, when the Lakers defeated the Detroit Pistons. That makes one in 16 seasons before tonight’s game between the Pistons and San Antonio Spurs.

“Of course, you’re nervous, a little anxious, because whatever you did in the last 10 months, it comes back to just one game,” the Spurs’ Manu Ginobili said Wednesday.

“You win it all or you go back home with nothing. So, of course, there is a lot of pressure and responsibility in the game, but it’s for both.”

For the NBA, it’s a major turnaround. The league has been dogged by one-sided Finals since Chicago’s last championship in 1998. The West won the next five by a combined 20-6.

Ratings dived despite the presence of sports’ greatest soap opera, the Lakers, who were loved or hated by all. The San Francisco Chronicle’s Scott Ostler called them the most hated team in sports, even eclipsing the New York Yankees, which was saying something, the more so because Ostler once covered the Lakers for The Times and co-wrote a book about the Showtime era, “Winnin’ Times.”

Unfortunately for the NBA, a villain (like the Yankees) needs a foil (like the Red Sox). The Lakers won their three titles from 2000 to 2002 by a combined 12-3 in the Finals, and there went those three springs.

When this series started 2-2, with all games decided by at least 15 points, it looked as if the NBA had discovered a phenomenon, a competitive series with no competitive games.

Then came Robert Horry’s memorable performance in Game 5, followed by the broken-hearted Pistons’ remarkable stand 48 hours later in Game 6.

By then, callers to New York’s WFAN were asking whether Horry would make the Hall of Fame (he’s a longshot with a career scoring average of 7.5, but stay tuned). At a news conference Wednesday, Detroit’s Cool Hand Luke point guard, Chauncey Billups, was asked to compare himself to the Yankees’ Derek Jeter and the New England Patriots’ Tom Brady (graciously, he demurred).

The Pistons have now survived five elimination games in the last two postseasons, three of those on the road.

Cool guys that they are, they say they never had a doubt about Game 6, except, of course, Coach Larry Brown, whose life is doubt.

Brown was so thrilled to see his players bouncing back, he called it “an out-of-body experience.”

“I was in such awe [Tuesday] night, just watching what those guys did,” Brown said. “ ... You know, to come in here, I think everybody kept asking the same question, how are we going to get ourselves ready to play in Game 6? And then I just marveled at their enthusiasm and their effort and the fact that they cared so much that I could have handled almost anything. ...

“I’m really looking forward to tomorrow. I think it’s great for the league, and it will be a wonderful experience being part of that.”

By now, it’s readily apparent that the favored Spurs and the Pistons, defending champions and perennial underdogs, are evenly matched.

As he did to the Lakers last spring, Brown is containing the Spurs’ star, Tim Duncan, with single coverage. Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace and Antonio McDyess take turns guarding Duncan. The 6-foot-11, long-armed Rasheed is a particular problem for the 6-11, long-armed Duncan, who is used to shooting over power forwards’ heads.

Duncan, who averaged 27.8 points in the last series, is at 19.8 in this one, shooting 43%.

Like the Lakers, the Spurs are used to seeing defenses loading up on Duncan and aren’t as free and easy now that the defense is staying home with them.

As they did last spring with Kobe Bryant, the Pistons are sagging into the middle when Ginobili gets the ball, taking away his madcap drives. After averaging 26.5 points in the first two games, he is at 14.8 since.

However, the Pistons have a problem scoring, against anyone. Fortunately for them, they were red-hot in Game 6, with Billups making five three-point baskets and the team going eight for 17 from beyond the arc. That compared favorably with their three-point production in the first five games: eight for 44.

Game 6 turned into a shootout for these defense-minded teams. Spur Coach Gregg Popovich intends to make sure Game 7 doesn’t.

Of course, Brown was asked how he was approaching yet another game that could be his last in Detroit, or even in coaching.

Brown didn’t want to talk about it -- but just in case, allowed himself a few moments to look back on his career, thanking his many mentors, players, assistant coaches and half the people he met along the way.

“I’m hopeful that when all of this is said and done that people say the guy cared about the sport and cared about the players he taught,” Brown said. “I’m not an innovator, but I’m relentless in what I believe in. So I guess that’s it.”

That’s not it quite yet. There’s at least one more game, the one the league waited years for.