Frozen moment: Rice cooks when it matters most
By Greg Collins
ESPN.com
LOS ANGELES -- Glen Rice was the center of his share of controversies during the NBA Finals. It's only fitting that he was there again in the deciding moment of the deciding game.
|  | | Rice ran past Jalen Rose a few times and ended up with one of his best games of the Finals. |
With the Lakers leading 110-109 with 80 seconds left, Rice took the ball to the basket. As he rose up, so did Indiana's Dale Davis. Rice's shot was rejected by Davis, and a scramble for the loose ball ensued.
A whistle sounded. One minute, 16 seconds stood on the clock. A loose-ball foul was about to be called. A foul on the Lakers would give the Pacers a chance to grab the lead. But referee Joey Crawford lowered his arm at Austin Croshere, who had been tangled with an off-balance Rice.
The contact was hard to find when watching replays. But Rice knew he had been fouled.
"It was definitely a foul," Rice said. "That's why they blew the whistle."
Rice was eager for redemption, not only for what he suffered through this series, but also for missing three of four free throws earlier in the game. Two swishes put the Lakers up 112-109, en route to a 116-111 victory that clinched the NBA title four games to two.
Rice had complained about a lack of playing time after the Lakers lost Game 3 and then saw his wife fan the flames by publicly criticizing Lakers coach Phil Jackson. A free agent this summer, Rice had been trying to find his identity on this L.A. team with three massive personalities -- Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant and Jackson.
"I was telling everybody you have to go through your ups and downs," Rice said. "But if we win the NBA championship, it will be like an aspirin for me. I just had my aspirin, so I'm great."
With 16 points on excellent shooting in Game 6, Rice put his stamp on the series by being in the right place at the right time.
"In the last two minutes, all the balls bounced our way," O'Neal said.
Added Pacers guard Reggie Miller, "A loose ball like that, hands are everywhere -- I think the referees ought to turn their head on something like that, especially both teams battling like that."
But Miller noted that Crawford, a veteran official, was a man Miller respected greatly.
"If he saw something, it's hard for me to go against him," he added.
Miller knew the game hadn't been lost yet. A shooter nonpareil, Miller took the Pacers' fate in his hands like he had all series. With the clock counting down at less than 30 seconds, Miller fired up a long 3-pointer -- all or nothing.
"I wanted to tie the ballgame up right there," Miller said.
"If it goes in, it's a great shot. If he misses it, you're disappointed," Larry Bird said.
The shot was long and bounced off the back rim. But the fact that he took the shot didn't surprise Kobe Bryant, the Laker most likely to take a shot like that.
"Reggie's the type of guy that likes to go for the kill," Bryant said. "It didn't surprise me. What's surprising is that he didn't make it. He usually makes those types of shots in those situations."
After suffering through a miserable series, it was Rice smiling in the end. Meanwhile, in the other locker room, there was Miller. Amazing how a change of venue can change everything. |
