- [Clara] It's Memorial Day, 1999.
We're in the Alamodome for game two
of the Western Conference Finals.
The San Antonio Spurs lead the series,
but the Portland trailblazers lead this game by two.
It's Spurs' ball, and we've got 12 seconds left.
Neither of these teams
have had much playoff success in recent years, why?
And if that's the case, how'd they end up one series away
from the NBA finals?
To find out, gotta rewind.
(gentle music)
This Portland team was known more
as dysfunctional bad boys
than a team that could make a run in the playoffs.
Nicknamed the Jail Blazers, they came late to practices,
yelled at refs, got caught with weed, and on one occasion
spit on a fan who may or may not have deserved it.
Worst of all, they hadn't advanced
beyond the first round of the playoffs
in the previous six years.
What made this year different? A lockout, I'll explain.
The season didn't start till February
and was condensed to 50 games over three months.
A grueling schedule with few rest days
was actually not a problem for Portland,
'cause they're young, athletic, and very deep.
Coach Mike Dunleavy kept legs fresh
with a 10 player rotation.
Lineups were fluid.
Damon Stoudamire would play the first three quarters,
then the more veteran, Greg Anthony
would come in to finish things up.
Rising star, Rasheed Wallace
only started 18 times in the regular season.
Walt Williams was their main starter.
The Blazers occasionally started Jim Jackson
in place of their volatile franchise player, Isaiah Rider.
Which Rider didn't love, but accepted.
Having to share playing time can be a tough pill to swallow,
but it helps if that pill is coated
in the sweet flavor of success, kind of like Advil.
At the end of March, they had the best record in the league
and they were considered title threats, but uh-oh,
they couldn't keep it up.
Stoudamire complained about playing time.
Isaiah Riders showed up late to practices and got benched.
The Blazers lost nine of their last 17 games
including three losses to the San Antonio Spurs.
But thanks to their early season wins,
they entered the playoffs seated second
with home court advantage in the first round.
Now, if winning had been good for team chemistry
in the first two-thirds of the season,
you better believe regrouping in time for the playoffs,
sweeping the suns, and advancing to the second round
for the first time in seven years
was a pretty good bonding experience.
Then against the Jazz in the Western Conference semis,
the Blazers showed a maturity some didn't think they had.
In game five, Karl Malone threw a hard elbow
at Brian Grant's head, resulting in six stitches for Grant.
Later in the game, Grant retaliated
with a ball pump toward Malone and got a tech.
Dunleavy freaked out and got ejected.
Okay, okay, okay, that's not the maturity I'm talking about.
What I'm talking about, see, everybody expected game six
to be a violent, eye-for-an-eye type game.
Isaiah Rider said
that's what was gonna happen, in the newspaper.
But instead, Portland got vengeance
by playing basketball so well, they ended Utah season.
The Blazers celebrated their Western Conference finals berth
right there on the court,
which the Spurs weren't impressed by.
Though, I'm guessing they're impressed
with the Blazers tonight.
San Antonio hasn't led for a moment of this game.
Right now with the chance to tie or possibly go up,
who are they gonna run a play for?
They have a lot of options, but there was a time
when they'd, without a doubt, go to David Robinson.
Robinson was drafted in '87 and the front office was sure
he'd be the savior of a Spurs franchise
that was bad and who nobody wanted to watch.
They had to wait two years for Robinson to finish his active
tour of duty with the Navy,
but hey, he was worth the wait.
One year on the job, and Robinson
was unanimously voted rookie of the year.
He led the Spurs
to the league's greatest single-season turnaround,
and San Antonio entered the 1990 Playoffs
second in the west.
Where they came up short in the Conference semis
losing to the Blazers with a game seven collapse.
It's tempting to blame the loss on Rod Strickland,
on the Spurs at the time, for this no look pass to no one
in the last 30 seconds of overtime.
But that's not the only reason the Spurs went home.
They blew a seven point lead
in the last two and a half minutes of regulation,
and their young leader, by his own admission, was not great.
The following year, San Antonio again won their division
and finished second in the west,
but got upset by seven seed golden state.
A pattern was developing in which the Spurs
had great regular seasons, then faltered in the playoffs,
specifically David Robinson faltered in the playoffs.
In '94, Robinson was on fire.
He scored 71 points in the last game of the season.
And, as that sort of implies, he was the NBA scoring champ.
Then Utah upset San Antonio in the first round
when Robinson couldn't make it happen.
'95 saw an even better regular season for The Admiral.
He was MVP and San Antonio
had the best record in the league.
Determined to reverse their postseason fortunes,
the Spurs plowed through the Nuggets, then beat the Lakers,
making it to the Western Conference finals
where they got upset by the six seed Rockets.
In series-losing game six, Robinson was totally outplayed
by Hakeem Olajuwon.
But okay, Olajuwon's really good,
can we hold that against Robinson?
The MVP? Yeah, okay, I guess we can.
Especially considering he committed six turnovers
including one in the last 40 seconds
with the Spurs down by just four.
Oh, and he also missed three foul shots down the stretch.
Over and over The Admiral let the Spurs down,
but hey, they were much worse without him.
Robinson injured his back, then broke his foot
and missed all but six games of the '97 season.
The Spurs went 20 and 62, earning the worst record
in the history of their existence.
Silver lining to that fart cloud,
they won the draft lottery.
With the number one pick San Antonio grabbed Tim Duncan,
it wasn't a hard decision.
And once again, a large rookie
brought excitement to San Antonio.
With the twin towers protecting the basket,
the Spurs finished
with the fewest allowed points in the league.
They set a new single-season turnaround record
and Tim Duncan was rookie of the year.
But the post-season was a bummer.
Facing Utah in the Western Conference semis,
Duncan played with a sprained ankle,
Robinson needed to step up, and you know what,
we've seen it before, I don't wanna say it out loud again.
Tim Duncan's ankle healed long ago
and tonight he leads the Spurs with 23 points.
Like Robinson, Duncan is certainly a viable choice
for this play, but there are two new additions
to the Spurs out there
who are both known as clutch shooters.
In '97 Steve Kerr hit this NBA finals winning shot,
a 17-footer in the last five seconds.
So it's reasonable to conclude
that Kerr and deliver in the clutch,
but he's been off tonight,
and this whole postseason, in fact.
Mario Elie's claim to fame is yes,
His two rings with the Rockets,
but specifically it was game seven
of the '95 Western Conference semis.
With seven seconds remaining,
Elie drained this corner three
and kissed the Suns good night.
This is Elie's first year with the Spurs
and he's been a huge add.
San Antonio started off the season just terribly.
GM and self-appointed coach, Gregg Popovich
was on the chopping block as Their record hit 6-8.
In that eighth loss, Utah crushed them by 14.
At which point Mario Elie had had enough.
He publicly criticized his team saying they played
with no emotion and possessed neither heart and soul
nor blood and guts.
That opinion had been floating around the league for years.
First Robinson as a non-demonstrative finesse player
who wasn't leading the Spurs to a championship
got the "soft" label.
Then when Tim Duncan entered the scene
with his, "my favorite flavor is plain" demeanor,
he was also branded as soft.
So the Spurs have heard it before,
but this time the critique seemed worse
as it was coming from inside the house.
Hey, maybe that made it easier to hear,
because Robinson in particular
played with more intensity after Elie's comments.
The Spurs started winning--
it wasn't solely because
of the Elie-spurred change in attitude,
San Antonio also switched up their offense.
Duncan became option one,
which meant Robinson was option two
for the first time in his career.
But Robinson learned to accept and thrive in his new role
as leader on D.
Duncan also thrived in his new role as MVP candidate.
The Spurs finished the season
winning 31 of their last 36 games.
They were first in the Western Conference,
nobody called them soft anymore,
and Duncan was in the top 10 of all categories. Just about.
And they didn't collapse in the playoffs.
In the opening round Minnesota was too physical
for Tim Duncan, so Robinson, showing no respect for tradition,
stepped up and played well in the postseason.
Then the Spurs swept the Kobe-Shaq Lakers
and Duncan was the hero.
In game one of this Portland series,
both Robinson and Duncan were dominant.
Duncan did struggle to contain Rasheed Wallace
which kept the game close.
Off a timeout with 20 seconds remaining,
Popovich switched Robinson onto Wallace.
When Wallace had a chance to tie the game
with six seconds remaining,
he had to shoot over Robinson and missed.
San Antonio ended up taking the game by four points.
Tonight's been a different story.
'cause Portland displayed their depth.
While they usually use that 10 player rotation,
in the first half tonight, 11 different Blazers saw minutes.
Nine of those 11 scored.
Nobody was in double figures
but Portland was up at halftime 48 to 34. Depth!
Meanwhile, the Spurs offense stagnated.
The twin towers were smothered by double teams
and the shooters couldn't buy a bucket.
Oh, except for Sean Elliott.
Sean Elliott is a solid option for this play,
even though I haven't mentioned him much yet.
Elliott often gets overlooked when discussing the Spurs,
'cause everybody's too busy talking about the big guys.
They tend to draw the eye.
The Spurs drafted Sean Elliott third overall in 1989,
the same year Dave Robinson finished up with the Navy
and finally joined the team.
Robinson kind of dominated the spotlight.
But don't worry,
Elliott could play just fine in regular light.
His scoring average jumped each year.
In '93 he was the Spurs second leading score.
And he was selected for his first all-star game
which delighted him and his teammates, fun.
He finished that season with career highs
In points, steals, and assists.
Plus he was a fan fave.
Then that summer, the Spurs traded him
to Detroit for Dennis Rodman, c'mon!
The thinking was, Rodman's defense and rebounding
would help out in the playoffs and not for nothing,
Rodman would combat San Antonio's soft reputation.
In Detroit, Sean Elliott had less fun.
He didn't feel involved in the offense,
his confidence waned
and he didn't get along with his teammates.
All right everybody, get a thesaurus.
In early February, the Pistons traded him to the Rockets,
excepts Elliot failed his physical.
He had a kidney condition
that was bound to be serious sooner or later.
He stayed in Detroit, doctors cleared him to play
and he continued his miserable season.
He finished with his lowest scoring average
since his rookie year.
That summer the Pistons were looking to unload him,
and the Spurs had a new GM
who remembered how good Elliott could be.
The Spurs required Elliott,
welcoming him back with open arms
and a clause in his contract giving them an out
if he had kidney trouble.
He got new meds and the doctor said he should be able
to play in top form again.
Turns out, doctors are smart.
Elliot was even more productive the next year.
But apparently, what goes up must come down.
Don't blame me, blame Albert Einstein, or somebody.
Knee injuries kept Elliott on the bench
for most of the next two years.
He worked on getting back in the groove this year
and tonight he's been doing very well.
In the third quarter, the Spurs were down 18,
their largest deficit.
Elliot found that unacceptable,
and hit a three to kick off a 17-2 San Antonio run.
He also hit another three during that run.
Portland, despite having several players in foul trouble
and Rider out with a hurt knee,
built their lead back up to nine at the start of the fourth.
Tim Duncan responded with a quick seven points
including a three-point-play
that brought out some emotion in him.
- [Broadcaster] Look at the emotion! Look at the eyes!
- [Clara] If eyes are the window to the soul,
that soul's pissed.
But the Blazers kept on coming and with a minute to go,
they were up six.
Wait, who's that over there?
Sean Elliott? Make that less than a minute to go,
Blazers up just three.
Then Mario Ellie got found, hit the free throws,
and we had a one point game.
At this juncture, Damon Stoudamire takes center stage.
You may recall he doesn't usually play in the fourth,
but he did tonight because he was doing well.
The guys 5'10" and pulled down six rebounds.
But maybe it wasn't the best decision to keep him in,
'cause he displayed some crunch time inexperience.
First, he took a quick shot
instead of letting the clock run down.
Then the 73% free throw shooter missed his first.
Side-note, I bet Avery Johnson was pleased right now.
Not just 'cause his team might win,
but 'cause Stoudamire had previously said,
the Spurs would never win a championship
with Johnson at point.
I don't know if Johnson is a spiteful guy,
but if he was...
Stoudamire did hit his second free throw,
which brings us right here.
Two teams are looking to buck unflattering reputations,
one of aggressiveness, one of passiveness,
but both rooted in past failures to deliver in the playoffs.
One of these teams is going to deliver
in the next 12 seconds.
Will the 11-deep Blazers prove they have the poise
and maturity to hang on for the win?
Or, will San Antonio prove they have the blood and guts
necessary for a come-from- behind playoff victory?
To find out, we gotta hit play.
Welcome to a moment in history.
- [Broadcaster] In to Sean Elliott, he fires the three!
And hits it!
His sixth of a game! What a shot!
It look like he was gonna step out of bounds.
He caught it and tightroped the sideline.
What a shot!
- [Clara] And let's just make sure it's stuck.
- [Broadcaster] Williams picks it up.
His fade away no good off the glass.
Avery Johnson slaps at it,
and time expires!
- [Clara] Thanks for watching everyone.
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And if you liked this video,
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Not a lot of money, I'm not reckless.
For Secret Base, I'm Clara Morris.
Good night and good game.
(gentle music)