 |
| Dejounte Murray was unstoppable. |
A close Game 4 turned wild in the 3rd Quarter, with the Phildaelphia 76ers mounting control over the Spurs, fighting for their season, desperate to send the series back to Texas for Game 5. By the end, it would not happen. But on the way there, an instant classic unfolded and the heart of a champion was demonstrated by the San Antonio Spurs, who were dead in the water, down 82-76 heading into the final quarter.
Philly boosted their lead to 14 points as the 4th Quarter got underway, with the defending champions nearly buckling under the road team pressure in front of a hostile crowd that chanted "Defense!" all game long. A sweep looked "not meant to be" as San Antonio's best shooters, Joe Harris & Fred VanVleet, had gone cold for three quarters and the Spurs offensive chemistry on the floor looked fractured at best. Joel Embiid was getting every rebound, swatting Andre Drummond's shots at the rim with ease, frustrating the Spurs big man to the point of a flagrant foul being called in the first overtime period, erasing the small lead once the Spurs finally got it back.
With two-minutes left to play, the Spurs had narrowed the gap to 95-101, a reward for tenacious defensive pressure that became undoubtedly the backbone of their historically great season record (77-5), forcing a backcourt violation into the hands of Brandon Ingram's layup, cutting the gap to four. Murray tussled with Milton for the loose ball on the wing, last touch by Shake for another turnover, which became a dunk by Bazemore (99-101). Embiid hammered it home next, followed up by Murray on the other end, followed up again by Embiid, but the big man fell down on the play, leaving Drummond open for a dunk back down court, only for Embiid to get the rebound after Milton missed at the tin, putting the 76ers up 103-107 with 1:19 on the clock.
 |
| Fred VanVleet kept the Spurs alive in the 4th Quarter. |
Then Fred VanVleet saved the Spurs, flying off a screen to hit a 3PTer. Embiid crushed a dunk through on the other end, but VanVleet buried another 3PTer to notch the score at 109 with 40s to go. Milton missed the corner 3PT shot, but Brandon Ingram couldn't slay the Sixers at the buzzer as his baseline J went awry.
OverTime basketball in Philadelphia!
Fred VanVleet powered the Spurs onward, giving them a 113-111 advantage as Drummond's block got them the ball back for Murray's dunk on the other end, 115-111: Spurs. Al Horford hit a bunny to cancel out the dunk, but Dejounte dunked it home again past the entire 76ers defense, ala LeBron James v. the Pistons years ago. Next was the flagrant foul by Drummond, spoiling the 4-PT lead. Ingram redeemed the mistake, making it 119-115. Joel Embiid hit again, 119-117. Murray turned the ball over next. Drummond played Embiid well on defense, forcing the layup to roll out, with Kent Bazemore's would-be dagger splashing through, 122-117. Embiid made it 122-119 next, but Ingram hit that J this time around, making it 124-119 with 38 seconds left in OverTime.
Al Horford got a slick pass from Simmons for the layup, and a steal by Embiid on the inbound pass erased the Spurs lead, 124-123. Ingram buried both free throws after an intentional foul. Then Shake Milton hit a bomb from Steph Curry distance, tying the score yet again. Ingram missed a second time nearly at the buzzer, and even Andre Drummond's put-back game-winning shot did not fall, 128-128.
 |
It's tough to win a championship without your best player on the court. |
The Spurs caught a huge break early in Double OverTime, when Simmons got whistled for his 6th death-knell of a personal foul. Brandon Ingram dunked A.J. Lawson onto a poster next, but neck-and-neck it still went on, 134-134 then 138-134 after two more dunks by Murray, then 138-138 after a turnover by Ingram for Tobias Harris to score on the fast break, only for Murray to hit a floater over Embiid, 140-138. Murray heroically stole the ball on the next play, setting a Spurs record with 7 steals in the playoffs, as the Spurs haggardly called timeout.
Masterfully, Coach Popovich saw an opening to end the fight and subbed in Joe Harris with 40.6 seconds left in Double OverTime. Harris would go on to bury consecutive 3PT daggers, making it 143-138, then 146-140 after Philly made two free throws as Harris buried the corner splash. Embiid would admirably hit the and-1 lay-in past Drummond to make it 146-143, but the intentional foul game did not reward Phildaelphia as Ingram hit both free throws. With 8.1 on the clock, Tobias Harris had to put up the 3PTer, but it missed and Ingram buried the last two free throws of the NBA Finals. Philly put up the prayer from full court with fighting spirit, but it was over, if only finally.
The Rest:
Brandon Ingram repeated as Finals MVP, averaging 29.2ppg, 6.8rpg, 3.5apg & 2.5spg and staying within the percentages that earned him Most Improved Player honors, 52% from the field overall and 41% from 3PT distance. He scored 45 points in Game 4, going 15-31 from the field with 7 assists, 5 steals & 5 rebounds. Close behind was the spearhead of the Spurs, Dejounte Murray, whose tally of 29 points, 12 assists & 7 steals was truly unforgettable. Fred VanVleet made up for a cold first half to win his first NBA championship on a stat line of 24 points (9/17 FG) with 7 assists, 4 steals on 5 threes. Kent Bazemore had 14 points & 5 assists. Drummond, despite his frustrations with Embiid tonight, had 14 points as well with 11 rebounds, 4 steals and that crucial block down the stretch. Joe Harris had 11 points.
The scoring columns went:
1st Qtr: 21-21
2nd Qtr: 33-25, SA
3rd Qtr: 36-22, PH
4th Qtr: 33-27, SA
OT: 41-34, SA
For Philadelpha, Joel Embiid powered the last stand of the 76ers with 40 points & 25 rebounds with 3 blocks (on Drummond). Ben Simmons fouled out with 21 points & 14 assists (7 turnovers). Al Horford had 17 quality points with 5 boards & 2 steals. Shake Milton scored 16 points with 9 assists, showcasing his playmaking abilities once Simmons exited the game. Tobias Harris had 16 points, with Clint Capela contributing 14 points with 7 rebounds.
Both teams shot 55% (SA) & 60%, respectively. The Spurs made seven more 3PT shots and got four more free throw chances, connecting on all but three with Philly missing three. The Spurs narrowly won the fast break, 31-28, with 98-82 being the lead for Philly on interior scoring. The Spurs had 44 assists, to 39 by the 76ers. By the final buzzer, the Sixers had 30 turnovers as a team to just 11 by San Antone, with the Spurs leading by 12 at one point and the Sixers by 14.
