On the court
Robinson, Spurs are worth champions
Posted: Saturday June 26, 1999 09:22 AM
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David Robinson finally has a title to go with his collection of individual honors. AP |
By Marty Burns, Sports Illustrated
The NBA championship resides deep in the heart of Texas tonight, after the
Spurs' victory over the Knicks in Game 5. In the end the Twin Towers were
simply too much for the gritty Knicks, who used a scintillating Shooting
Spree to keep it close throughout. Some thoughts from the clincher:
Could there have been a more appropriate ending for this series than
what transpired on the game's final play? The Knicks run a well-conceived
and perfectly-executed play, getting Sprewell in fantastic position for a
basket only to have the Spurs' two big men, Robinson and Duncan, force him
to miss the shot. It was a perfect reflection of the undermanned Knicks'
solid preparation, hustle and desire - and the Spurs' superior talent.
Not that it would have made any difference, but Knicks coach Jeff Van
Gundy never did go to his big guard lineup of Sprewell and Houston in the
backcourt. You'd think the Knicks would. ....... whoops.......wait a
minute........ we seem to be having a problem with our CNNSI shotclock (
................ pause for TV timeout while the refs figure out what's fair
...........). OK, that's better. Now where were we?
With 9:43 left and the score tied at 63-all, the Knicks played a video
on the overhead scoreboard featuring celebrities Jerry Seinfeld, Alec
Baldwin, Derek Jeter, Puff Daddy and Kevin Kline repeating the team's motto
over the past few months: "I still believe!" The crowd roared so loudly it
almost woke Spurs forward Sean Elliott up from his
slumber.
The Spurs are not only a worthy champion, they are also a respectable
one. They won this title with talent and desire, and played the game with
sportsmanship and grace -- as did the Knicks. When Spurs guard Avery Johnson said before
the Finals that he wanted to win the title as much for David Robinson as
himself, that spoke volumes about his character and what these games should
be about. Several of his teammates echoed his sentiment. Knicks fans can be
proud of their team, but raise a toast to the Spurs for helping salvage an
otherwise forgettable lockout-shortened '99 NBA season.
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