He's the two-time reigning MVP. He's the best power forward in the game. He's the reason the scales tip the way they do against the Nets in these Finals. And still do.
But for one night, this was the Tim Duncan the Nets had to see to win a game. Duncan the 30% foul-shooter. Duncan the unreliable ball-handler. Duncan the lethargic oaf. Duncan the fourth-quarter liability.

This never happened to Michael Jordan in a Finals game. Or Hakeem Olajuwon. Or even Shaquille O'Neal, who has a bit of a foul-shooting problem you might have heard something about.

In the final period, when MVPs are supposed to take over, take charge, take control and take their team to a 2-0 series lead, Duncan took the quarter off when the Nets escaped here with their 87-85 win.

Check that: The Spurs might have been better off if he had not been on the floor. That's not terribly easy to say, but he did ruin their comeback.

"Our weakness is our free throws and our turnovers and we did both of those tonight," Duncan said.

We? No, not "we." You, Tim.