Redemption for Rasheed

NEW YORK–Rahseed Wallace was blamed for Detroit’s 96-95 overtime loss to San Antonio in Game 5 of the National Basketball Association (NBA) best-of-7 Finals last Sunday (Monday morning, Manila) because he failed to stop Robert Horry from nailing the triple that settled the outcome.

With 9.6 seconds left in extension and the Pistons on top by two, Horry inbounded the ball from the Spurs quartercourt. The pass went to Manu Ginobili, guarded by Tayshaun Prince. Instead of staying close to Horry who never hesitates to jack up a triple, Wallace waltzed over to Ginobili. That left Horry wide open to get the ball back from Ginobili and shoot a trey.

Earlier, Wallace called a timeout when the Pistons had none left and escaped a technical foul because time had run out in regulation. Obviously, he didn’t listen to Detroit coach Larry Brown’s instructions in their last huddle.

Wallace is supposed to be Spurs star Tim Duncan’s primary defender because the other Wallace, Ben, takes on Nazr Mohammed in the center matchup. But in the course of the game, adjustments are made to throw off an offensive player’s rhythm by showing different defensive looks. Brown likes to rotate the Wallaces and Antonio McDyess–called the Pistons’ three-headed beast or three-man tag team–on Duncan to take away his composure. The ploy is intended to wear down and frustrate Duncan.

But with Game 5 on the line, Wallace–Rasheed, that is–was assigned to cover Horry, the inbounder, and prevent him from taking the back pass to launch a triple.

For the record, Horry knocked down the winning triple in Game 1 of the 1995 Western Conference Finals between Houston and San Antonio, Game 3 of the 1995 NBA Finals between Houston and Orlando, Game 3 of the 2001 NBA Finals between Los Angeles and Philadelphia, Game 4 of the 2002 Western Conference Finals between Los Angeles and Sacramento and Game 3 of the 2002 first round series between Los Angeles and Portland. He’s not called Big Shot Bob for nothing.

You could almost read what was on Spurs coach Gregg Popovich’s mind. The Pistons were up by two and only 9.6 ticks were left. You inbound to Ginobili to create or Tony Parker to find Duncan at the low block or give it back to Horry for the winning shot. The options were crystal clear.

"The Pistons clearly forgot about Horry, electing to double team Ginobili in the corner and leaving Horry alone at the arc for his fifth three-pointer of the game," wrote Dave D’Alessandro of the New Jersey Star-Ledger.

Brown said he reminded his boys "about 25 times" to cover Horry in their final timeout. Someone didn’t pay attention.

But Brown refused to blame Wallace. "I don’t want any one guy to take any (blame) personally," he said. "This is not track and field. This is a team sport. I guess there was miscommunication."

Detroit fans, however, were not as understanding. Irate callers phoned radio and TV stations to express their displeasure at Wallace’s lapse.

Wallace didn’t seem to be bothered by the brouhaha. "Our spirits are still high," he said after Game 5 despite facing the grim prospect of beating San Antonio twice on the road to win the title. "In order to win this series, you’ve got to win four games, not five."

In Game 6 yesterday morning (Manila), Wallace was back with a vengeance and sparked the Pistons’ 95-86 win at the SBC Center to force a winner-take-all Game 7 tomorrow (Manila).

Wallace was slapped his fifth personal with 11:23 to go in the fourth period and walked back to the bench to save himself for the homestretch. He checked back for McDyess, time down to 5:18, and the Pistons leading, 82-77. Wallace scored seven points in the payoff quarter as he personally made sure the Pistons would live another day. He had a steal and a huge rebound with less than two minutes to go to ice the match.

Wallace wound up with 16 points, three rebounds, three assists and three blocked shots in only 24 minutes.

Wallace, 30, is in his 10th year as a pro. Before moving to Detroit, he played for Washington, Portland and Atlanta. The volatile Wallace holds the NBA record for most technicals in a season at 41. He was fined $10,000 for refusing to appear for media interviews during the 2000 NBA playoffs, $15,000 for his involvement in a post-game brawl with a fan in 2003 and $20,000 for castigating the referees during the recent Miami series.

The Finals will end tomorrow morning (Manila) and is the first best-of-7 title series to go the distance since Houston stormed back from a 2-3 deficit to capture the championship over New York in 1994.

No doubt, Wallace–the goat-turned-hero–will be at the forefront of the Pistons attack.