updated 1:29 a.m. ET June 22, 2005

SAN ANTONIO - Tim Duncan grabbed the rebound and dunked it hard, then made a quick move for another basket. Great stuff — but it was too little, too late for the San Antonio Spurs.

Duncan went without a field goal from 3:37 of the third quarter until his putback slam with 3:14 left in the fourth. Although his second straight basket got the Spurs within one point, San Antonio failed to score after that and lost Game 6 of the NBA Finals 95-86 to the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday night.

This was the second straight game the Spurs’ main man let them down when they needed him most. Robert Horry overshadowed it in Game 5, but nobody picked up the slack this time and now the championship will be decided in a Game 7 on Thursday night.

Duncan finished with 21 points and 15 rebounds. He had seven of each in the fourth quarter, but was just 2-of-4 from the field — missing two point-blank shots after catching an air ball by Tony Parker in the tense closing minutes — and 3-of-6 on free throws during the final period.

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The lack of times the ball found the two-time finals MVP was as surprising as what happened when he got it.

“I’m being as aggressive as I can be,” Duncan said. “We’re not going to force-feed. We’re not going to start doing that now. We haven’t played like that all season. ... I’m not going to demand the ball.”

Duncan wasn’t alone in his late-game woes.

After he got the Spurs within 87-86 with 2:26 left, Manu Ginobili was blocked twice on layups and Parker had his ugly jumper. Even Horry missed a 3-pointer as the Pistons closed the game on an 8-0 run.

“I could have done a way better job making decisions the last five minutes,” said Ginobili, who also scored 21. “I’m very, very upset with the way I played down the stretch.”

The Spurs became the first home team to ever lose a Game 6 when leading 3-2, putting them in jeopardy of becoming just the third team to blow a 2-0 lead in the finals.

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They also lost the aura of invincibility they had at home — against the league and against Detroit. This was just their sixth loss in 52 home games, but it was the first win by the Pistons in their last 11 tries, dating to April 2, 1997.

Plenty of other uncharacteristic things went into it, starting with Detroit going 8-of-17 on 3-pointers. The Pistons had made eight 3s all series. However, San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich was more bothered by his team going 8-of-28 behind the arc. The Spurs hadn’t taken more than 25 this postseason and in franchise playoff history had never taken more than 27.

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