The late 3 wasn’t the only big shot by Horry, whose offensive poise was a direct contrast to Duncan’s troubles.

The Pistons were ahead 87-85 before Horry caught a pass and quickly launched a 3-pointer that dropped through with 1:17 left in regulation, giving him seven straight points for the Spurs. Duncan had a chance to extend the lead after Hamilton missed a jumper, but the career 69 percent foul shooter missed a pair from the line with 1 minute remaining.

Billups scored on another of his crafty drives to give Detroit an 89-88 lead, and the Pistons fouled Duncan when he got the ball down low on the next possession. With the crowd noise at its loudest of the series, Duncan missed the first foul shot — making him 0-for-6 in the period — but made the second.

San Antonio’s best defender, forward Bruce Bowen, took over guarding Billups on the next possession, and there appeared to be contact as Billups drove the lane and missed. But no foul was called, and San Antonio got the ball back with 16.9 seconds left able to hold for the last shot of regulation.

Ginobili dribbled the clock down and drove on Tayshaun Prince, but missed. Duncan was there for the rebound, grabbed the ball with two hands and had a wide-open chance for an easy putback, but his shot somehow came up short. He walked off with his hands balled into fists covering his mouth.

Coach Gregg Popovich said he spent 90 percent of his preparation time focusing on the mental aspect of what his team needed to do, the other 10 percent on X’s and O’s. The Spurs were much more aggressive in terms of taking the ball to the basket — the one things they had done best in the first two games — and Ginobili was especially effective in the early going.

Slide show: The Week in Sports Pictures   Oct. 3 - 9 Images from the baseball playoffs, NFL, college football, and more.

Billups had a pair of airballs early in the third quarter, one of which hit the supports behind the backboard, but he came back with a long jumper and a three-point play in transition for a personal 6-0 run that tied it at 61-all before Horry ended the quarter with a 3-pointer — a preview of what was to come.

Notes: Officials Ron Garretson, Steve Javie and Mike Callahan worked Game 5. The Pistons are 0-5 in the playoffs with Garretson on the court. ... Recording star Kid Rock sang “America the Beautiful” a capella while wearing a vintage Rick Mahorn warmup jersey. He closed the song with a shout of “Let’s rock!” before putting his black hat back on and giving a satisfied nod to the crowd, which ate it up.

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