If the Lakers don't win the next two games and pull this off again, that last shot will loom as the defining moment in the dynasty's demise: Robert Horry used to hit that shot, but this time he didn't.

If the Lakers do come back, this will make their story all the better.

Horry's potential winning three-point shot rattled out Tuesday night, sticking the Lakers with a 96-94 loss to the San Antonio Spurs in Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals. It leaves the Lakers having to win two elimination games in a series for just the second time under Coach Phil Jackson.

"Every one of us thought that last shot was down, and it was," Jackson said. "And it came back out. And that ruined a night in which we had a great comeback.

"After playing a game in which they dominated for the first 34 minutes of the ballgame, we were able to turn the tables a little bit and get back and get some momentum."