The 0.4 shot is a reference to Derek Fisher's game-winner with 0.4 seconds in Game 5 of the 2004 Western Conference semifinals. The game was played on May 13, 2004, between the Los Angeles Lakers and the defending champion San Antonio Spurs at SBC Cente r in San Antonio, Texas. The series was tied at 2 games apiece, and Game 5 was a closely contested affair. The game had what seemed like multiple game-winning shots. With 11 seconds remaining, Kobe Bryant hit a jump shot to put the Lakers up 72–71. Tim Duncan then made a fadeaway 18-footer over Shaquille O'Neal to give the Spurs a 73–72 lead with 0.4 seconds on the clock. After a Lakers timeout advanced the ball to their own half, Gary Payton inbounded the ball to Fisher, who managed to catch, turn, and shoot the game-winning basket all in 0.4 seconds. Rather than celebrating, Fisher sprinted off the court into the tunnel, which became the lasting image of the play.[1]
The Lakers would win the next game in Los Angeles, giving them the series win. Fisher shot not only changed the outcome of the series (the Lakers would have been down 3 games to 2 had he missed), but was one of the most memorable moments in NBA playoff history.[2][3] Had there been just one tenth second less, due to the Trent Tucker rule, the Lakers would have only been able to attempt a tip-in.[4]
The Lakers–Spurs rivalry from 1999 through 2004 was considered one of the most competitive sports rivalries during this era.[5][6] In 1999, the Spurs swept the Lakers in the Western Conference Semifinal in the last game of the Great Western Forum, on their way to winning their first NBA championship during the strike-shortened season. The next season, the Lakers hired Phil Jackson, head coach of six Chicago Bulls championships in the 1990s, to coach a team that was talented but had not fulfilled its promise.[7] Jackson, along with an MVP season from Shaquille O'Neal and the continued ascension of young guard Kobe Bryant, helped the Lakers to win the 2000 NBA championship. Meanwhile, the Spurs became the first NBA champion since the 1985–86 Celtics to fail to win a second consecutive title, thanks in large part to a knee injury from star player Tim Duncan just before the playoffs.[8] 2000 was the Lakers first of three consecutive titles, as along the way they defeated the Spurs in the 2001 playoffs (in a sweep) and 2002 (in a competitive five-game series). In the process, the Lakers 2002 close-out win against the Spurs came during the last game at the Spurs' Alamodome, closing the venue down just as the Spurs did the Forum in 1999.[a] In 2003, the Spurs got their revenge, beating the Lakers in the Western Conference Semifinals in six games, and thus ending their bid for fourth consecutive championships.[9] A month later, the Spurs won their second title in franchise history by defeating the New Jersey Nets in six games. With another title won, longtime Spurs star David Robinson retired after the season.[10]
In the off-season, the Lakers signed aging, but effective veteran star players, Gary Payton and Karl Malone,[11] while former Laker Robert Horry signed the Spurs for the following season.[12] With the additions of Payton and Malone, the Lakers entered 2003–04 as heavy favorites to win another NBA title.[13] Due to Kobe Bryant's sexual assault case and the implementation of the new star players into Jackson's Triangle offense,[14] the Lakers got off to a mediocre start to the season, but got things together before the playoffs, highlighted by Bryant's game-winning shot against Portland Trailblazers on the last day of the season to give the Lakers the Pacific Division title and the #2 seed entering the playoffs.[15] For the Spurs, despite the retirement of Robinson, and despite having a won-loss percentage of approximately .500 in November, they posted a 13-game winning streak in January and won their final eleven games of the season.[16] The team finished second in the Midwest Division with a 57–25 record and the #3 seed in the Western Conference. Both the Lakers and Spurs won their first round match-up, which set the stage for a fourth playoff meeting between the two rivals in five seasons. Prior to Game 5, the Spurs won the first two games in San Antonio and the Lakers followed that up with two wins in Los Angeles. In Game 4, Kobe Bryant scored 42 points of the Lakers' 98 points, a day after he had to appear in court.[17]
The 0.4 Shot
Game 5 of the Western Conference Semifinals
The SBC Center during Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals
In terms of quality of play, Game 5 was a defensive battle.[18] At halftime the score was 42–35 in favor of the Lakers, but the game got more competitive in the closing minutes. Trailing by sixteen points with 3:59 left, the Spurs went on a 26–7 run and took a three-point lead. Then the Lakers got back up by a point with a Kobe Bryant jump-shot with 11 seconds left.
Tim Duncan then made a fadeaway 18-footer over Shaquille O'Neal to give the Spurs a 73–72 lead with 0.4 seconds on the clock.[19] To devise strategies, three consecutive time-outs were called: the first by the Lakers, the second by San Antonio to set up the defense, and the last by the Lakers to re-set up the offense. When the game resumed, Gary Payton inbounded the ball to Fisher, who managed to catch, turn, and shoot the game-winning basket all in 0.4 seconds. Fisher sprinted off the court, as he later admitted he was uncertain he beat the buzzer and wanted to exit before the play could be reviewed. Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich was livid about the outcome. The Spurs immediately filed a dispute regarding the shot and after reviewing video footage of the play, the referees concluded that the ball indeed left Fisher's hands before the clock expired. The "0.4" shot counted and the Lakers won the game by a score of 74–73.[20] "You talk to all [our] technological guys, and they put it up on the screen, and it did start late," Popovich said at the time. "There's no doubt that the clock started late, but that's using all the technological stuff that I don't understand."[21]
In college, Fisher stated he won a game with 0.2 seconds left, which gave him confidence in this situation. The game occurred during Fisher's time at the University of Little Rock-Arkansas in a two-point win over Mississippi State on December 9, 1995. That was Fisher’s final college year before entering the NBA Draft in June 1996.[22][23]
Beyond the controversy, Spurs young guard Tony Parker had shot poorly in Game 5 against former Defensive Player of the YearGary Payton, going 7-for-23. His problems would persist in Game 6, with a 4-for-18 night. San Antonio was still within three points at the start of the fourth quarter, but Bryant finished with 26, Shaquille O'Neal had 17 points, 19 rebounds and the Spurs season ended with an 88–78 loss.
Aftermath
At the time, the Lakers and Spurs Western Conference Semifinals was looked at as a de facto NBA Finals.[24] It looked like that way when the Lakers defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves in six games in the Western Conference Finals. However, the Lakers came undone at the hands of the Detroit Pistons in the NBA Finals, in what is considered one of the biggest upsets in sports history.[25][26][27] As a result of this loss and the on-going Shaq-Kobe feud, Shaquille O'Neal was traded to Miami for Lamar Odom, Caron Butler, and a first-round draft in the off-season.[28] For San Antonio, they would quickly rebound the next season, winning the NBA Finals over the defending-champion Pistons in seven games. This meant every NBA champion besides 2004 was either the Lakers or Spurs.[29] Additionally from 1999–2010, the Lakers or Spurs appeared an NBA Finals every season but 2006.[30]
On July 15, 2004, Fisher left the Lakers by signing a six-year, $37 million contract with the Golden State Warriors,[31] but returned to the team from 2007–2012. Over the years, Fisher gained the reputation for making clutch shots.[32] Most notably, he made a score-tying three-point shot with 4.6 seconds remaining in Game 4 of the 2009 NBA Finals against Orlando, then sealed the victory with a three-pointer with 31.3 seconds left in overtime.[33] Fisher would later state that although the 0.4 shot was life-changing, it meant nothing due to the Lakers not winning it all that year.[34]
ABC's call of Fisher's 0.4 Shot
Al Michaels: Here they go... they get it to Fisher... HE SCORES! Doc Rivers: OH MY GOODNESS! Michaels: Derek Fisher scores at the buzzer! Michaels (moments later as Fisher runs to the locker room): And they're going to try to get on the plane before the officials can get over to the scorer's table!
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