Robert Horry keeps making the big shot
May 27, 2002
by Vincent Bonsignore
Somewhere in those veins of ice inside Robert Horry, a little bit of fear exists.
Lakers Robert Horry goes up for a rebound. (Edna Simpson / Daily News)
That might come as a surprise to anyone who has seen Horry convert so many crucial shots in the playoffs over the years, the latest being the game-winning 3-pointer he hit Sunday to break Portland's heart and complete the Lakers' first-round sweep of the Blazers with a 92-91 victory.
Horry sure didn't seem afraid when he took Kobe Bryant's pass with four seconds left and the Lakers trailing by two points. And he certainly wasn't fearful when he calmly set up in front of Portland's bench, then launched the game-winning shot to shut up the Blazers, many of whom were screaming at him from behind, and the 20,000 people at Portland's Rose Garden.
Actually it was all pretty ruthless, Horry ending the Blazers' season in such a sudden, gut-wrenching manner.
Nevertheless, there was anxiety.
But it's Horry's acknowledgment of the fear, and his ability to push it aside and disregard it, that enables him to first be willing to take such a pressure-packed shot -- some players shy away in those situations -- and then have the nerve to actually make it.
"We all dream about being in that situation, time running out, the game is on the line, but it takes a special, unique player to actually relish that situation and to want to have the ball at such a crucial time." Derek Fisher said. "And Rob is one of those guys. He doesn't get excited and he doesn't feel pressure."
Well, that's not entirely true. Horry is feeling it, he just chooses to ignore it.
"My mind-set is, well, if you miss it you miss it," Horry said. "Another day goes on. It's not like if you miss it you're going to have to go out in front of the firing line. So you just go out and shoot the basketball."
It's just that Horry usually makes it, which hasn't gone unnoticed.
Horry smiles sheepishly when told Magic Johnson recently proclaimed him one of the 10 best clutch players in the history of the NBA.
"Was he drinking?" Horry asks, before bursting out laughing.
Then Horry gets serious.
"I'm appreciative of it, but you know, there are too many great players that came before me," Horry said. "I never made anything but All-Rookie team and that was only second team."
Horry is a guy without a true position, coming off the bench as a too-small-to-play power forward full time and a too-tall-to-play small forward all the time. So he splits time at both positions, never having a specific role, rarely getting his number called for set plays and not knowing exactly who he'll match up with until he walks on the floor and Phil Jackson tells him to "guard that guy."
He's the ultimate role player, it's just that part of his role is to sometimes take game-deciding shots.
"Rob does the little things that every team needs to win," Lakers assistant Jim Cleamons said. "They may not show up in the scorebook, but his coaches and teammates know how valuable he is to a team."
It's always been that way for Horry. He's not just the other guy on his teams, he's the other other guy. In college at Alabama, he played with Latrell Sprewell and James Robinson, then he played with Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler in Houston, and now it's Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant with the Lakers.
Playing with so many big-time teammates, Horry isn't the guy you'd expect to come up so big time and time again. But maybe it's Horry's other guy status that creates situations in which he can be a hero. Horry isn't wide open Sunday against Portland if Scottie Pippen doesn't leave him to go help on Bryant, who was driving to the basket for a game-tying layup.
In Houston, it was the double-teams on Olajuwon that created open looks for Horry, whose clutch outside shooting helped key NBA title runs in 1994 and 1995.
With the Lakers, the attention on O'Neal and Bryant opens the door for Horry.
What sets him apart is his knack for delivering, which gives players such as Bryant and O'Neal the faith that if they pass him the ball, he's going to knock down the shot.
Last year, Horry scored the Lakers' final seven points to help beat Philadelphia 96-91 in the critical third game of the NBA finals. The victory put the Lakers ahead 2-1 in the series, which they eventually won 4-1 to win their second consecutive championship.
Sunday,it was the 3-pointer to steal the win in Portland.
"We knew he was going to be over there in the corner," O'Neal said. "And we knew if he shot it, he'd make it."
And he did. Again.
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