SAN ANTONIO 101, PHOENIX 95 PHOENIX (Ticker) -- Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs made it clear to the Phoenix Suns that defense wins championships.
Duncan had 31 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks as the Spurs returned to the NBA Finals for the third time in seven years with a 101-95 victory over the defenseless Phoenix Suns. The second-seeded Spurs closed out the Western Conference finals in five games, winning all three contests at America West Arena. They began the series by taking a pair of shootouts from the top-seeded Suns but fell back on their reliable defense in the clincher. Backstopping the effort was Duncan, who continues to assert himself as the best player in the world. He was in the middle of a pivotal defensive stand at the outset of the second half and scored the biggest basket of the game down the stretch. As they did all series, the Spurs had their hands full with Amare Stoudemire, who scored 42 points. But they made stops when they had to, which was more than the Suns could say. After whittling a 12-point fourth-quarter deficit to 93-90, the Suns had the Spurs inbounding with three seconds on the shot clock. Duncan took a lob pass in the lane and drove, tipping in his miss for a five-point lead with 2:14 to go. Robert Horry made a steal and Stoudemire missed a scoop shot rebounded by Duncan, who worked a give-and-go with a wide-open Tony Parker for a layup and a 97-90 bulge with 50 seconds remaining. Led by NBA MVP Steve Nash, the run-and-gun Suns topped the NBA in scoring this season. However, they were last in defense, the staple of the Spurs. Phoenix was held below 106 points just twice in the postseason, both times by San Antonio. San Antonio trailed, 50-49, at halftime but forced Phoenix into 2-of-15 shooting and five turnovers over the first 7 1/2 minutes of the third quarter, opening a 69-56 lead. Manu Ginobili had 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists and Parker scored 18 points for the Spurs, who will have seven days off as they await the winner of the Eastern Conference finals between Miami and Detroit. San Antonio, which won NBA titles in 1999 and 2003, has home-court advantage in the NBA Finals. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> What would our lives be like without music, dance, and theater? Donate or volunteer in the arts today at Network for Good! http://us.click.yahoo.com/2xaSZB/SOnJAA/Y3ZIAA/2_TolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> HAPUS BAGIAN EMAIL YG TIDAK PERLU SEBELUM ME-REPLY. ========================================================== Milis Tabloid BOLA Untuk KELUAR DARI MILIS INI. Kirim Mail kosong (tanpa subject) ke alamat [EMAIL PROTECTED] ========================================================== Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bolaml/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
