Setting sail

Admiral's effort sets tone for championship ending

SAN ANTONIO -- The perfect send-off for a retiring Admiral?

How about a final chance to rally the troops, fire a few well-placed torpedos and provide some robust defense?

Spurs center David Robinson did all three Sunday night in Game 6, going out in grand style while helping his team clinch its second NBA championship.

Playing in the final game of his glorious 14-year career, Robinson came up with a performance worthy of full military honors: 13 points, 17 rebounds and two blocked shots.

"My last game, streamers flying, world champions. How could you write a better script than this?" Robinson said.

At age 37, with a history of back problems, Robinson can’t produce big nights on a regular basis. But with the NBA title on the line for the Spurs, he dug deep into his past. For much of Game 6, he and Tim Duncan seemed like the only Spurs on the floor as they joined forces to put a lid on the basket.

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Robinson was all over the place during San Antonio’s 19-0 fourth-quarter run that broke open the game. He pulled down seven rebounds -- one more than Duncan -- and he hit his only shot.

"I’m just thrilled that David ends his career with a game like that," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "His effort was really wonderful. He really dug down deep and showed how important it was for him to help us get this victory."

Robinson also might have been the Spurs’ most vital player during a pivotal 17-7 run during the second quarter, when San Antonio climbed back into the game after a poor start. With just under five minutes to go, he unleashed his full 7-foot frame to snuff Nets forward Kenyon Martin, setting off a fast break that resulted in a Bruce Bowen corner jumper that cut New Jersey’s lead to 33-30.

Robinson added a driving layup moments later, grabbed a big defensive rebound off a Kerry Kittles miss and then slid in front of Martin for a charging call.

Robinson’s heroics seem to fire up the SBC Center crowd and raise the intensity level of his teammates. But the Admiral wasn’t done yet. At the other end, he slipped inside for a high-post lob feed from Duncan and laid the ball in to cut the Nets’ lead to 38-36.

"As the game was going on, I was just thinking, we cannot lose this game," Robinson said.

Ultimately, that might have been Robinson’s biggest contribution to his squad Sunday night. Having already won an NBA title in 1999, he knew how important it was not to let it get to a Game 7. Then he went out and played like it.

As the final seconds ticked down, Robinson, the U.S. Naval Academy grad and one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History, raised his left arm in triumph, smiled and hugged his teammates.

"There’s absolutely nothing bitter about it," he said later. "It’s all sweet."

Better even than a 21-gun salute.