By Jordan Long
On this date in sports history, the San Antonio Spurs were looking for their first NBA title in franchise history. They faced the New York Knicks in game 5 of the Finals in New York. New York was hoping to stay alive and force a game 6.
The start of the 1998 to 1999 season was delayed because of a lockout that began July 1st, 1998 and ended January 20th, 1999. Once an agreement was reached, the season lasted 50 games.
The Spurs went 37-13, tied with the Utah Jazz for the best record in the NBA. They ended up as the #1 seed in the Western Conference playoffs. In the postseason, they faced Minnosta in the 1st-round. San Antonio won that series in 4 games. In the 2nd-round, they swept the L.A. Lakers to reach the Western Conference Finals. Portland was no match for the Spurs as they swept them to advance to the NBA Finals.
The New York Knicks managed a record of 27-13. They were the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Not many experts expected them to win a series let alone a game. In the 1st-round it took them all 5 games to beat the Miami Heat. In the 2nd-round New York breezed past the Atlanta Hawks in 4 games. In the Eastern Conference Finals, New York knocked off the Indiana Pacers in 6 games. This was New York’s first appearance in the NBA Finals since 1994. They lost to the Houston Rockets that year.
The Spurs won game 1 and 2 on home court. They drummed the Knicks by a combined score of 169 to 144. Heading back to the “Big Apple” it looked like it could be a short series. New York managed to win game 3, 89-81. Game 4 was huge. If New York won, the series would be tied. Unfortunately, the Knicks fell short by the final score of 96-89. San Antonio was 1 win away from being NBA champions.
New York’s starting lineup in game 5 was Allan Houston, Latrell Sprewell, Larry Johnson, Marcus Camby, and Charlie Ward. For the Spurs, they went with Tim Duncan, Avery Johnson, Sean Elliott, Mario Elie, and Hall of Famer David Robinson. Both teams needed to play defense in order to give themselves a chance to win.
The Spurs totaled 20 points in the 1st and 2nd quarter while limiting the New York Knicks to 23 points in the 1st quarter and 15 in the 2nd. Heading into halftime the Spurs led 40 to 38. San Antonio was one half away from the NBA Championship.
In the third quarter New York outscored San Antonio 20 to 19. It came down to the 4th quarter. The Spurs were ahead 78-77 with 2.1 seconds left in the game. New York had one last chance to extend their season. The ball was inbounded to Latrell Sprewell but he was covered by Spurs’ defenders. He tried to put a shot up, but the basketball never made it to the basket, giving the Spurs the victory. The leading scorer for the Spurs was Tim Duncan with 31 points. For the New York Knicks, Sprewell totaled 35 points.
The Spurs have since won 4 more NBA titles. For New York, they haven’t even made it back to the NBA Finals. The Spurs will always remember their first NBA title which occurred on this date in 1999.
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