Now the Series Seems Familiar

Coach Gregg Popovich ducked the question from the minute San Antonio won Game 2 last week, casting it aside like it were another letter from another fan offering a quick fix for the Spurs’ season-long free-throw woes.

The parallels were there for the taking, and the media obliged: The Spurs had won twice at home and were heading to Los Angeles for Games 3 and 4, just like they did last year in the Western Conference semifinals.

But Popovich refused to make a comparison: These were different teams in a different season.

He was correct, but somehow he wasn’t.

Some faces have changed for the Lakers and Spurs, but the result stands the same a year later after the Lakers’ 98-90 Game 4 victory Tuesday. The series is tied, 2-2, going to San Antonio for Game 5 on Thursday.

The Spurs repeated what they did last season, fumbling a 2-0 lead because of a flat Game 3 and an incomplete Game 4, failing to hold an 11-point lead.

Tim Duncan and Tony Parker, dominant the first two games, were awful in Game 3 and adequate in Game 4, neither one providing the difference between a 3-1 series edge and a 2-2 deadlock.

Robert Horry, who has made a 12-season career out of playoff heroics, has all but vanished, scoring five points in four games and making one of six shots in 59 minutes.

He played five minutes in the first half of Game 4, did not take a shot and did not play in the third quarter.

“Wins aren’t great, losses aren’t disaster,” Popovich said. “You just have to keep it in perspective.”

From the Spurs’ perspective, this series should look very familiar.

From anybody’s perspective, it will be interesting to see how Horry reacts.

Horry’s shot was the deciding factor in Game 5 last season. His three-point basket in the closing seconds rattled in and out, allowing the Spurs to win at San Antonio and close out the series in Game 6 at Staples Center.

Karl Malone’s arrival ended the Lakers’ need for Horry, who spent more than six seasons with the Lakers, four under Phil Jackson, three ending in a championship.

Horry found a home in San Antonio and began the playoffs in the opposite way he ended them last season, averaging 11 points, 8.3 rebounds and making six of 10 three-point shots in a first-round sweep of the Memphis Grizzlies.

But he has yet to make an impact against his former teammates.

“He played better against Memphis,” Parker said. “I’ve got no idea. You need to ask him.”

That became difficult when Horry left without speaking to reporters.

“He’s just had a tough time,” Popovich said. “Maybe it’s emotional in some sense for him, I’m not sure.”

The Spurs, meanwhile, have other problems.

Parker made seven of 18 shots and scored 18 points. Duncan had 19 points on five of 13 shooting.

They weren’t bad, but they weren’t good enough, just like the rest of the Spurs.