Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili were both voted to play in the 2005 NBA All-Star Game, which was hosted in Denver.
Roster Last transaction: April 4, 2005 After their disappointing second round collapse to the Los Angeles Lakers, the Spurs looked to regain the NBA crown.
The Spurs would be near the top in the Western Conference all season battling the Phoenix Suns for the best record in the NBA.
Just as it appeared the Spurs would cruise toward the playoffs, their season suddenly hit a bump in the road when Tim Duncan went down in a March 20 loss to the Detroit Pistons with a sprained ankle.
The rest of the way, the Spurs would limp home winning 9 of their last 17 as they held on to the Southwest Division by just 1 game with a 59–23 record.
He scored eight points in a decisive 12-2 surge that gave the Spurs a 67–55 lead, then throttled a push by the Pistons with a swooping dunk, 3-pointer and running hook for an 81–67 advantage with less than two minutes to go.
However, it was the Spurs who came out with a sense of urgency, as they did not want the Pistons to steal a game in San Antonio and take home court advantage away from them.
From the opening tip, Game 2 was all San Antonio as the Spurs got out to a quick lead and never looked back.
The Spurs took advantage of Detroit's uncharacteristic mistakes throughout the night, which included missing 9 shots from inside four feet from the basket.
Despite the tough challenge, the Pistons pulled through, and came out with several key steals and two scoring runs in the third quarter, then netted many insurance points in the fourth to win a big game which was a de facto must-win.
When the end of the game came, and the 96–79 final score flashed upon the screens, many Pistons fans, celebrating in jubilation, started filling the air with confetti and conducted other celebratory customs.
Horry had previously already been famous for nailing the winning shot in Game 4 of the 2002 Western Conference Finals between the Lakers and Kings.
In addition to the game winning three pointer Horry made a spectacular left-handed dunk as the shot clock was winding in one possession, that is one of the highlights of the series.
Then, Rasheed Wallace planted a three-pointer to pull away, and even with a resilient game by the Spurs, the Pistons had clinched the victory.
Nevertheless, several Pistons free throws were necessary in the final moments of the game to put a win out of reach for the Spurs.
Despite the fact that his mistake ultimately cost the Pistons the championship, Wallace was nonchalant about the play, even commenting incorrectly that he left Horry to guard Duncan.
Although Duncan and Ginobili finished with 21 points each, neither was able to seriously threaten the strong Pistons defense enough to win the game.