The TNT crew all agreed that Derek Fisher fouled Barry, but Barry's reluctancy to "sell it" came back to bite him. It looked like Barry was surprised to see Fisher bearing down on him, and tried to put the ball on the floor instead of jumping into Fisher and getting the shot up until it was too late. Had he taken the alternative route, he would have very likely gotten three free throws and a chance to win the game.

Everyone seems to agree that the no-call was the right call, but it easily could have gone the other way. Get ready for the conspiracy theories to start flying. "David Stern wants the Lakers in the Finals against the Celtics" or "The NBA doesn't want the boring Spurs in the Finals again, so they gave Game 4 to the Lakers." Or the ever popular "Joey Crawford hates Tim Duncan and wants to eat his children." I'm not a big fan of conspiracy theories and the fact that Pop and Barry (as well as the entire TNT crew) appear to have no problems with the call should put the debate to rest rather quickly.

As for my own thoughts about the play. I was initially surprised that no foul was called while watching it live, but quickly understood the reasons for it. Barry took a dribble instead of a shot and that was that. But given the fact the game was in San Antonio, and Fisher clearly hit Barry more than a little bit, it is still a little surprising no foul was called.

I picked the Spurs to win it all this year, and I am officially writing them off. Even if they win Game 5 in L.A. and Game 6 in San Antonio, I can't see them making it three straight and taking Game 7 in L.A. But if I was a die-hard Spurs fan, this loss wouldn't sit real well with me. I guess the saving grace is that they never led the game and appeared to be finished much earlier, until a last-minute comeback out of nowhere.

Manu Ginobili was terrible again tonight, hitting just 2-of-8 shots for seven points and didn't even hit a bucket until late in the fourth quarter. He did hit a late three to keep his team in this game, but come on. Given the fact Manu hasn't shown up for three of the four games, it's not surprising that their backs are against the wall. Barry really stepped up in Ginobili's absence, hitting five threes and scoring 23 points, but could have made it that much better had he just shot the ball once Fisher left his feet. Pop and the elder statesmen for the Spurs know this thing is all but over, and I'd be surprised to see them win in L.A. on Thursday. Duncan was great again, going for 29 points, 17 boards and three blocks, but the Spurs were left dead in the water by the disappearance of Ginobili.

The game appeared to be over with about three minutes to go, as the Lakers held a nice lead and the Spurs could never put a run together. But a Manu three and a goal-tending call against Fisher on Tony Parker's layup got the Spurs to within two points with 23 seconds remaining.

For the Spurs being such a (supposedly) boring team, this series has been much more interesting to watch than the Pistons-Celtics. Game 4 in that one was about as ugly as they come. Game 5 is tonight in Boston and Charles Barkley says the winner of that game will win this series. It's hard to argue with that stance. Game 6 is in Detroit and Game 7 is in Boston.

And as for the Lakers, Kobe was fantastic again, hitting clutch shots, scoring 28 points and grabbing 10 boards in the win.