Dusty Garza
The legendary Robert Horry, who won seven NBA championships- including two with the San Antonio Spurs, says none of the 21 points he scored during a critical Game 5 that went into overtime in Detroit against the Pistons during the 2005 NBA Finals came from offensive plays designed for him.
“I remember going into halftime of that game. I was like zero for six (shots),” recalled Horry speaking to Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson on the former NBA players’ podcast “All The Smoke” which is produced by Showtime. “Pop did not run one (expletive) play for me. If you go back and look at every shot I took, it was either a forced shot or a three. I’m not a creator. I’m a spot-up shooter, slasher, or dunker but I have to take my own shot because they never ran a play for me.”
“We were going to lose that game if not for Robert Horry,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich has said.
Then in the fourth quarter came an unexpected dunk that Horry created off a faked three-point shot. Incredibly Horry scored all 21 of his points during the fourth quarter or overtime during that game.
“When the dunk (happened), that was basically somebody saying ‘We’re gonna win this basketball game,” Popovich recalled during the Spurs’ documentary series Ring of the Rowel.
Robert Horry says none of the 21 points he hit to put away the Pistons during the 2005 NBA Finals came from plays run for him— not even the legendary 3-pointer with 5.8 seconds left in overtime. He told the @allthesmokeprod podcast he was “hotter than fish grease.” 🔥🏀 #Spurs pic.twitter.com/b8uGOODYPE
— SpursRΞPORT (@SpursReporter) August 26, 2024
Indeed, as San Antonio was trailing by two points late in the game, Horry went on to hit one of the biggest shots in Spurs franchise history. It came in the form of a contested three-pointer with 5.8 seconds left.
The legendary Robert Horry, who won seven NBA championships- including two with the San Antonio Spurs, says none of the 21 points he scored during a critical Game 5 that went into overtime in Detroit against the Pistons during the 2005 NBA Finals came from offensive plays designed for him.
“I remember going into halftime of that game. I was like zero for six (shots),” recalled Horry speaking to Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson on the former NBA players’ podcast “All The Smoke” which is produced by Showtime. “Pop did not run one (expletive) play for me. If you go back and look at every shot I took, it was either a forced shot or a three. I’m not a creator. I’m a spot-up shooter, slasher, or dunker but I have to take my own shot because they never ran a play for me.”
“We were going to lose that game if not for Robert Horry,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich has said.
Then in the fourth quarter came an unexpected dunk that Horry created off a faked three-point shot. Incredibly Horry scored all 21 of his points during the fourth quarter or overtime during that game.
“When the dunk (happened), that was basically somebody saying ‘We’re gonna win this basketball game,” Popovich recalled during the Spurs’ documentary series Ring of the Rowel.
Indeed, as San Antonio was trailing by two points late in the game, Horry went on to hit one of the biggest shots in Spurs franchise history. It came in the form of a contested three-pointer with 5.8 seconds left.
“So I’m knocking down these shots and then at the end of the game a play was run for Manu (Ginobili), it wasn’t even for me. I’m inbounding the ball and Rasheed (Wallace) bit,” exclaims Horry excitedly. “As soon as Manu kicked it back I said I’m shooting this ’cause I’m hotter than fish grease.”
The ball hit nothing but the bottom of the net after Horry released it from thirty feet out. It capped the nail-biter and elevated the Spurs to a 96-95 victory.
“I didn’t realize Tayshawn Prince almost blocked it,” says Horry. “So for me, it was just one of those games where you get hot and you just want it all the time, but that Detroit team was a beast. You talk about four All-Stars on one team. They played together, they played great defense. That was a tough series.”
Horry has been in the news lately with talk about the possibility that he should be enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame. Horry himself has stated that he values his seven championship rings over a Hall of Fame induction, but former Laker and incoming Naismith Hall of Famer Micheal Cooper said last week that he’d like to see his former teammate inducted.
Days before that Rudy Tomjanovich, Horry’s former coach in Houston, stumped for him saying he strongly believes Horry deserves a spot in the Hall of Fame. “I really believe [Horry] belongs in the Naismith Hall of Fame,” said Tomjanovich. “He’s proven it time and time again. He’s made so many teams champions playing a role, and that’s so important. It isn’t about just the stats. It’s about getting results. I pray that one day he’s going to be able to stand up there and accept that honor.”
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