Detroit had won 10 straight postseason games with a chance to eliminate its opponent and was trying to become the first team in NBA history to win two Game 7s on the road in a postseason. As resilient as they were, that turned out to be too tough of a task.
"It's just an unbelievable feeling," Ginobili said.
Duncan's greatness was as much in question as his team's. He had struggled through out the series against a superior defensive team, the Pistons presenting the toughest test the Spurs had faced in the finals after defeating the 1999 Knicks and the 2003 Nets, teams that might have been a little too pleased just to have a shot at the title.
Duncan came up short on a dunk and a 6.5m shot early in the third quarter, giving him six consecutive misses, and Detroit slowly began to build upon its lead. A dunk by Tayshaun Prince, a steal and two foul shots by Chauncey Billups, a poor possession by San Antonio and a spin move by Antonio McDyess made it 48-39.
Duncan's string of misses reached eight before he converted a three-point play, and Ginobili drove for a score off a turnover to complete a 7-0 run that got the Spurs right back in it. A 4m shot by Duncan -- a part of his usual repertoire that had been absent in this series -- produced a 53-53 tie before he knocked down another shot off the glass, this time from a few steps farther away, to help produce a 57-57 tie entering the fourth.
Duncan had 12 points and six rebounds in the third quarter.
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