 |
| |
|
 |
 |
|
|
The quiet man Horry makes big difference with defense, key shotsPosted: Saturday May 18, 2002 10:16 PMUpdated: Saturday May 18, 2002 10:49 PM
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- Robert Horry squatted in front of the scorer's table, waiting to re-enter the game. A white towel covered his head and shoulders, cloaking him from the spotlight. Los Angeles Lakers teammates Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant were, as usual, drawing most of the attention from fans and from the Sacramento Kings. But Horry quietly made a huge difference, both on offense and defense, as the Lakers won Game 1 of the Western Conference finals 106-99 Saturday. Horry, who has played on four NBA championship teams, set the tone early with stifling defense that forced Kings' top scorer Chris Webber to miss three of his first four shots and struggle to find his rhythm. He also helped out at times guarding Kings center Vlade Divac, making sure O'Neal stayed out of foul trouble, and had three of the Lakers' five steals in the first half. Horry added 11 points in the first half, including a pair of 3-pointers, and had a team-high seven rebounds in the half. The Lakers took a 13-point halftime lead, and maintained a double-digit lead much of the second half en route to victory. By hitting his outside shots, Horry forced Webber to come out to guard him -- opening up the middle of the Kings' defense. "By making shots, I can take my man out and make it easier for Shaq and Kobe," Horry said. "That's what you can expect when you have a [power forward] who can hit 3s." Horry's first basket was a long jumper that gave the Lakers a 24-14 lead. After the Kings made two straight baskets, Horry responded with a three-point play. In the closing seconds of the first quarter, he hit a 3-pointer, then stole the ball and got it to Bryant for a dunk that made it 36-22. "The Lakers came out on fire tonight, and that put us in a big hole," Kings guard Mike Bibby said. "We kept fighting back and fighting back, but we just couldn't get over that hump." Though hurt twice in the second half -- he jarred his knee on a drive into Divac, then went down hard after taking an elbow from Webber in the face -- Horry finished with 18 points, 8 rebounds, 4 steals and 3 assists. His final two points came on an offensive rebound that gave the Lakers a seven-point lead with 1:35 remaining. Teammate Lindsey Hunter said Horry's play cannot be overlooked as the Lakers seek their third consecutive title. "Robert's the man. Shaq's the best in the world and Kobe does it all, but Robert is a coach on the floor for us," Hunter said. "And we expect him to make the big shot and lead us in the little things." Playoff success is nothing new to the 31-year-old Horry, who played on two championship teams with the Houston Rockets and already has two rings with the Lakers. Saturday was his 143rd playoff game. His two 3-pointers moved him into a tie with John Starks for fourth place on the NBA career 3-point list in the playoffs with 176. Horry was not a starter when the playoffs began last month, but has started the past four games. As a reserve, he hit two key shots in earlier series.
In Game 3 of the first round at Portland, he hit a decisive
3-pointer with 2.1 seconds left in the game. In Game 5 of the
conference semifinals against San Antonio, Horry's 3-pointer with
56 seconds remaining gave the Lakers a seven-point cushion as they
finished off the Spurs.
|
|
|||||||||
| |||||||||||
