Tony Parker (9) of the San Antonio Spurs congratulates Stephen Curry (30) of the Golden State Warriors after Game Six of their Western Conference semi-finals during the 2013 NBA play-offs at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California, yesterday. Spurs won 94-82 to take the series 4-2.
OAKLAND, California: The San Antonio Spurs booked a return trip to the NBA Western Conference finals yesterday, holding off the Golden State Warriors 94-82 to win their second-round play-off series.
San Antonio’s Tony Parker endured a difficult night of 3-of-13 shooting, but two of those baskets were crucial three-pointers in the final four minutes to help the Spurs fend off the determined young Warriors team.
The Spurs won the best-of-seven series four games to two and will face the Memphis Grizzlies in the Western Conference finals for a place in the league’s championship series.
San Antonio will host the Grizzlies in game one tomorrow. Two years ago, the Grizzlies shocked the Spurs in the first round. The Spurs returned to the Western Conference finals last season, but fell to Oklahoma City.
Tim Duncan scored 19 points to lead the Spurs. Parker and Manu Ginobili both struggled with their shooting but combined for 19 assists.
Ginobili scored five points on 1-of-6 shooting -- his only basket of the night a driving layup to stretch the Spurs lead back to five points after Golden State’s Klay Thompson had drained a three-pointer to trim the deficit to three points with 10 minutes remaining.
Back-to-back jump shots by Thompson and Stephen Curry cut the Warriors’ deficit to 77-75 with 4:52 to play.
A Spurs turnover then gave Golden State a chance to tie, but Curry was off-target with two attempts.
A three-pointer by Parker saw the Spurs regain some breathing room.
Kawhi Leonard also made a big three-pointer for San Antonio in the waning minutes, while Golden State’s Thompson and Curry both saw three-point attempts rattle around the rim and fail to fall.
Parker, meanwhile, drained another three-pointer to put the Spurs up 88-79 with 1:15 to play.
“As we’ve said a lot in the playoffs, sometimes in the end it comes down to making shots. Down the stretch we made a couple of threes ... we did make some shots down the stretch and they didn’t,” said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich.
Parker scored 10 of his 13 points in the final four minutes.
“I was just tired, obviously,” Parker said of his shooting woes. “I think all the minutes caught up with me. Tonight I just didn’t have it.
“But I just kept believing in me. My teammates were behind me, kept telling me: ‘Keep shooting, they’ll go in.’
“I made the two big threes at the end of the game, so thank you to all my teammates believing in me and Coach Pop leaving me on the court.”
Elsewhere in another match, Carmelo Anthony had a game-high 28 points and the New York Knicks staved off elimination yesterday with a wire-to-wire 85-75 victory over Indiana in game five of their second round NBA play- off series. AFP
