On This Date in Sports June 15, 2003: The Admiral Sails Off a Champion
The San Antonio Spurs wrap up their second NBA Championship beating the New Jersey Nets 88-77 in Game 6 of the NBA Finals at the SBC Center. Tim Duncan, named NBA Finals MVP, narrowly misses a quadruple-double in the finale, scoring 21 points with 20 rebounds, ten assists, and eight blocked shots. While David Robinson, in his final NBA game, had 13 points and 17 boards.
Coached by Gregg Popovich, the San Antonio Spurs quickly became a powerhouse in the Western Conference. Winning the NBA Championship in 1999, the Spurs were overshadowed by the Los Angeles Lakers, winners of three straight championships. In 2003, the Spurs looked to show they could compete with the Lakers as Hall of Famer David Robinson played in his final season. New faces began to lift the Spurs to new heights as second-year guard Tony Parker and rookie Manu Ginobili became valuable pieces off the bench. Tim Duncan meanwhile won his second straight NBA MVP with 23.3 points and 12.9 rebounds per game. The Spurs playing in a brand new arena, finished the season with an NBA-best record of 60-22 and were the top seed in the Western Conference.
In the playoffs, the Spurs fought off a challenge from the pesky Phoenix Suns, winning the series in six games, as the NBA, for the first time, made the first-round series a best-of-seven. Facing the Lakers seeking a fourth straight championship, the Spurs had another fight on their hands in the second round. With the series tied at two games apiece, the Spurs nearly suffered a meltdown in Game 5, as Robert Horry’s game-winning three-pointer rattled out, allowing the Spurs to hold on for a 96-94 win at home, after holding a 25-point lead in the fourth quarter. San Antonio would win the series in six games, dethroning the Lakers with a 110-82 win at Staples Center. The Western Conference Finals would be a Lone Star State showdown, as the Spurs beat the Dallas Mavericks in six games.
It was a magical spring in the Garden State; not only were the New Jersey Nets again among the best teams in the NBA’s Eastern Conference, but the New Jersey Devils won a third Stanley Cup in nine years. Coached by Byron Scott, the Nets finished the season with a record 49-33, good for second overall in the Eastern Conference. After splitting their first four games against the Milwaukee Bucks in the playoffs, the Nets went on a roll, winning the next two games to win the series in six games. They then swept the Boston Celtics and the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals.
In the NBA Finals for the second straight season, the New Jersey Nets hoped for a better showing than the previous season when the Lakers swept them as they hoped to join the Devils as the first dual NBA-NHL championship. The series marked two former ABA teams' first meeting in the NBA Finals. In the opener, Tim Duncan dominated, leading the Spurs to a 101-89 win, with 32 points and 20 rebounds. However, the Nets accomplished their goal of winning a game on the road, stealing Game 2 by a score of 87-85 as Jason Kidd led the way with 30 points and seven boards.
As the series shifted to the Meadowlands, the Nets let a chance to grab the series lead get away as they struggled to score all night, scoring just nine points in the second quarter as the Spurs won Game 3 by a score of 84-79, with Tony Parker scoring a game-high 26 points. Inspired by the Devils, who were in attendance with the Stanley Cup, the Nets would fight back to even the series with a 77-76 win in Game 4, as Kenyon Martin had a big game with 20 points and 13 rebounds. With the series even at two games apiece, the Spurs got another big game from Tim Duncan, who had 29 points and 17 rebounds to win 93-83 to regain control of the series.
In Game 6 at the SBC Center, the Nets came out strong, scoring 25 points in the first quarter as they led by six points in the fourth quarter. However, the inability to control the glass was New Jersey’s undoing, as Tim Duncan and David Robinson combined for 37 rebounds, two more than the Nets had as a team. The Spurs would outscore the Nets 31-14 over the final 12 minutes to win the game and the series, as Tim Duncan narrowly missed a quadruple-double, scoring 21 points with 20 rebounds, ten assists, and eight blocked shots, with two additional blocks, that were not officially counted by the NBA official scorer.