Tim Duncan hit a game high 21 points as the San Antonio Spurs staged a stirring fourth quarter rally to capture their second NBA championship in five years on Sunday with a 88-77 win over the New Jersey Nets.
For much of the night the championship appeared headed for a deciding Game Seven, the Spurs waiting until deep into the final quarter before taking their first lead of the night.
With just over six minutes on the clock Stephen Jackson's three-pointer put San Antonio in front 73-72 and the Spurs would never trail again, riding a thundering wave of support of the capacity crowd of 18,797 to the title.
The playoff MVP in the Spurs run to the championship in 1999, Duncan was once again the key to victory adding another Most Valuable Player award to his trophy cabinet capped by a triple double in Sunday's Game Six.
As the final seconds ticked down, the crowd at the SBC Center roared in deafening celebration, finally able to experience the euphoria of a championship victory first hand after watching the Spurs win their first title on the road in New York.
Spurs fans also spent this season celebrating from the distance, their heroes closing out their first three series in Phoenix, Los Angeles and Dallas.
ROBINSON'S BOW
But the celebrations were also tinged by a bit of sadness, as Spurs fans bid farewell to David Robinson, "the Admiral" providing 13 points and menacing defensive presence in his final game of a 14-year Hall of Fame career before sailing into the retirement.
The Spurs, who have struggled at home losing three of their last five games at the SBC Center, got Game Six off to a sluggish start as the Nets, paced by 10 points from Richard Jefferson, rolled to a 25-17 lead in a scrappy opening quarter.
Some tenacious defending by New Jersey combined with some sloppy play from San Antonio in the second to allow the Nets to build on their advantage, opening up a 10 point bulge at 31-21.
Twice the Spurs cut the deficit to a single point and pulled level 38-38 but despite a 14 point first half effort from Duncan could never take the lead, entering the intermission trailing 41-38.
Nets guard Jason Kidd, who played the entire 48 minutes in Game Five but appeared to run out of gas in the final quarter, played just seven minutes in the second quarter, coach Byron Scott making sure his all-star had something left in the tank for the final drive.
Kidd was on the floor for the second half tipoff and would not leave for the rest of the contest as the Nets kept the pressure on the Spurs, allowing them to close the gap but never relinquishing the lead taking a 63-57 advantage into the final quarter.
Back-to-back jumpers from Kidd to open the fourth restored Nets 10 point advantage 67-57.
But New Jersey's bid to extend the series soon unravelled as the Spurs staged a stunning comeback going on a 19-point run to seal the title.
(Agencies via Xinhua June 16, 2003)
