Lakers 74, Spurs 73

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Tim Duncan avoided the outstretched arms of Shaquille O'Neal by double-clutching a jumper from the top of the key. Once he let the ball go, it thudded against the glass and banked in with 2:44 left, giving San Antonio its first lead since the opening minutes.

Wild and improbable, it was only the start of a crazy finish to Game 5 of the Spurs-Lakers series.

Duncan hit an even more amazing shot — from nearly the same spot — with less than a second left to put San Antonio ahead again. Then Derek Fisher answered with an 18-footer at the buzzer that gave Los Angeles a 74-73 victory Thursday night.

”That's what happens in playoff basketball,” Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. ”The odds are very slim. They are always desperation shots.”

The Spurs are hoping there's one more unbelievable twist.

They've protested the last play, claiming the clock did not start quickly enough after Fisher caught it. One of the three officials triggers the start with a wireless device on his belt. A neutral timekeeper does, too, as a backup.

”I think it definitely started late,” San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said.

Pending an unlikely reversal, the Lakers are headed home for Game 6 Saturday night a win away from the conference finals, while the reigning champions are a loss away from elimination.

Los Angeles has taken control of the series since dropping the first two games. With three straight wins, the Lakers' superstar-filled lineup has gone from dysfunctional to dynamic. They also have history on their side.

The winner of Game 5 in a best-of-seven series tied at 2 has gone on to win 96 of the previous 115. The 2002 Lakers were the last to buck that trend, against Sacramento. The 2003 Lakers followed it, getting ousted by San Antonio in six games.

”We've been leaning so hard on the past, it's time for us to make a new mark and identify who this team is,” Fisher said. ”Hopefully this win can catapult us to that direction.”

The other three series are tied 2-2. Sacramento and Minnesota will break their tie Friday night, as will New Jersey and Detroit. The Miami-Indiana series resumes Saturday with Game 5.

San Antonio, which snapped a 17-game winning streak in Game 3, ended a 17-game home winning string with this loss. The Spurs also are facing elimination, something that didn't happen during championship runs last year and in 1999.

Down by 16 with 3:59 left in the third quarter, San Antonio expected to be in this position. Then came a 26-7 run that put the Spurs up by three with 2:14 left, highlighted by Duncan's amazing shot.

Baskets by O'Neal and Kobe Bryant put the Lakers back up 72-71 with 11.9 seconds left, setting up Duncan's next sensational play.

He took an off-balance 20-footer while falling to his left, again with tight defense from O'Neal, and wound up on the ground. From his hands and knees, he looked to the San Antonio bench with wide eyes and asked, ”Did it go in?”

”I couldn't believe it went in, honestly,” said Duncan, who had 21 points, 21 rebounds and four blocks, but also made seven turnovers. ”I just had to take a shot, let it go as high as I could, knowing that Shaq was there.”

All that remained was defending one more play.

After three timeouts, the Lakers planned on Gary Payton lobbing the ball to O'Neal or hit Bryant curling to the sideline.

”Phil knows that I'm going to make the right decision when I take the ball out,” Payton said. ”I told them, 'Just get open. Anybody who gets open, I'll get it to you.”'

Two defenders followed Bryant as he ran toward Payton. Fisher, who had been setting a screen for Bryant, popped free from the foul line by taking two steps toward Payton. Fisher caught the ball, sank the shot over Manu Ginobili, then ran off the court in celebration.

Knowing the play had to withstand a video review, Fisher stopped in the tunnel and watched a television with paramedics to see what officials would decide.

”I just wanted to get out of there and not give them an opportunity to think that we didn't believe it went in,” Fisher said.

Bryant, coming off an amazing 42-point, no-turnover performance in Game 4, had 22 points, five assists and five turnovers. Devean George had 16 points, none in the fourth quarter. O'Neal had 11 points and 11 rebounds and played great defense on Duncan.

Duncan made three field goals in the first quarter, none in the second and one in the third. He had three in the fourth, including the two highlight plays.

Notes: Spurs point guard Tony Parker, who has cooled off since starring in the first two games, had nine of his 15 points during the fourth-quarter rally. … The Lakers earned their first postseason win in six tries in San Antonio's new arena, which opened last season. … The Spurs had two other three-game losing streaks this season — to the Hawks, Timberwolves and Pacers in January and to the Lakers, Warriors and Clippers in November-December.