NBA Game Summary - San Antonio at Detroit

Auburn Hills, MI (Basketball News) - Robert Horry made his fifth three-pointer with 5.9 seconds left in overtime, scoring the go-ahead basket that gave the San Antonio Spurs a 96-95 victory over Detroit in Game 5 of the NBA Finals.

Reeling after two straight losses at The Palace, the Spurs rebounded to win the closest game yet in this best-of-seven series. They can clinch their third championship in seven seasons by winning Game 6 in San Antonio on Tuesday.

Tim Duncan collected 26 points and 19 rebounds to lead the Spurs, who outscored Detroit 7-2 over the final two minutes of overtime. Horry finished with 21 points — all after halftime.

Chauncey Billups scored a game-high 34 points to lead the Pistons, Richard Hamilton had 15 and Ben Wallace added 13 points and 12 rebounds. Hamilton missed on an awkward shot attempt before the overtime buzzer.

The Pistons, who posted convincing wins in Games 3 and 4 to tie the series, scored the first four points of overtime to take the biggest lead by any team since early in the fourth quarter.

But a Tony Parker layup — his first points since the first half — finally got San Antonio on the overtime scoreboard with 2:10 left.

Rasheed Wallace then scored the last of his 12 points on a jumper to give the Pistons a 95-91 advantage. And that’s when Horry provided the first of two late-game highlights for the Spurs.

After faking a three-pointer, the veteran forward drove the lane and took off for a one-handed dunk over Hamilton. Horry was fouled hard and got up favoring his left shoulder before missing a free throw attempt.

"Being 68, 78 years old...stuff hurts me," Horry joked.

But the dunk got San Antonio within 95-93, and after Duncan spoiled an important possession with a turnover, Horry stepped up and drilled his go- ahead shot over a charging Tayshaun Prince.

It was Horry’s fifth three-pointer of the game — one for every championship ring he owns from a career spent hitting those types of shots.

"He’s a winner. He’s been in that situation so many times that he knows what it takes," said Manu Ginobili, who scored 15 points.

The Pistons looked to Hamilton on their final possession, and he delivered an elbow to the face of Parker before lining a jumper off the rim on the game’s final shot.

It was a fitting end to the most competitive game in this series, which had not featured a winning margin lower than 15 points.

Horry’s first points of the game came on a three-pointer at the end of the third quarter, which stopped an 11-2 Detroit run and gave the Spurs a 64-63 edge.

Horry then erupted for 13 points in the fourth quarter, scoring seven straight for San Antonio during one 58-second stretch that gave the Spurs an 88-87 lead.

"They started falling, so I started shooting," Horry said.

Billups hit a tough layup for the game’s 10th lead change before Duncan made 1-of-2 free throws to tie it at 89-89.

Billups then missed a bucket on Detroit’s final regulation possession, and Ginobili had a layup attempt blocked by Ben Wallace at the other end. Duncan’s tip-in attempt at the buzzer hit off the rim.

After trailing by as many as seven points in the first quarter, the Spurs shook off a slow start to go ahead 38-29 with five minutes left in the first half.

But a six-minute field goal drought, coupled with a 13-4 Pistons run to end the second quarter, had the teams tied 42-42 at halftime.

Duncan, Ginobili and Parker had 33 of the team’s 42 points in the half — this after the trio combined to score just 40 points in a Game 4 loss Thursday.