Spurs Advance To Western Conference Finals

Stephen Dunn/Getty Images(OAKLAND, Calif) --  The San Antonio Spurs always seem to find ways to win.

Tim Duncan scored 19 points, Tony Parker scored 10 of his 13 points in the fourth quarter and the Spurs eliminated the Golden State Warriors with a 94-82 Game 6 victory on Thursday night to advance to the Western Conference finals.

"They've got great character. They're competitive. They know there's not a million chances to do this sort of thing. They wanted it," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said of his squad.

Stephen Curry led the Warriors with 22 points on 10-of-25 shooting, while Jarrett Jack added 15.  Rookie forward Harrison Barnes suffered a head injury in the second quarter, returned in the third and was sidelined in the fourth with a headache.

Despite the disappointing finish, the Warriors came into this season with only one playoff appearance since 1994.  Making it to the second round is quite the accomplishment for head coach Mark Jackson and his team.

"It's inspiring to think of what we were able to accomplish this year and the foundation that has been laid," Jackson said.

The Spurs will face the Memphis Grizzlies in the Western Conference finals with Game 1 set for Sunday.

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Spurs Lasso Warriors for 3-2 Series Lead

Ronald Martinez/Getty Images(SAN ANTONIO) --  The San Antonio Spurs dunked the Golden State Warriors 109-91 Tuesday night to take a 3-2 lead in their Western Conference semifinal series.

Tony Parker led the way with 25 points and 10 assists, as the Spurs' defense held the Warriors' dynamic backcourt to just 13 points.

"Our energy was good," Parker said. "We got the 50-50 ball; that was huge for us tonight. It was a tough turnaround for us in Game 4. We missed an opportunity at the end and we realize that. Tonight we played for 48 minutes."

The Spurs outrebounded the Warriors 38-36 while forcing 14 turnovers, including 11 in the second half.

Harrison Barnes led the Warriors with 25 points, while Stephen Curry was held to just nine by a stifling Spurs defense.

"I was terrible, plain and simple," Curry said. "They outplayed us as a team. Individually, I didn't have anything on either end. (I was) a step slow, my shot wasn't falling and I was trying to make plays but defensively I lost a little focus."

The Spurs have a chance to close out the series in Game 6, which is set for Thursday night in Oakland.

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Spurs Shut Down Warriors, 102-92

Doug Pensinger/Getty Images(OAKLAND, Calif.) -- The Spurs were not fazed by Golden State's rowdy crowd on Friday night.  San Antonio downed the Warriors 102-92 on Friday night to take a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference semifinals.

Tony Parker scored 32 points and Tim Duncan chipped in with 23 points and 10 rebounds in the victory.

"Big win for us," Parker said.  "We didn't play well the first two games at home and I think it's the first time in the series that we played Spurs basketball."

Klay Thompson scored 17 points on 7-of-20 shooting and Stephen Curry was held to 16 points in the loss.

"We talked about it, even after winning Game 2, this is going to be a heavyweight championship fight," Warriors coach Mark Jackson said. "This is a different animal that we're going against. They have four future Hall of Famers. They're not going to lie down."

The Spurs will have a chance to take a commanding 3-1 edge on Sunday.

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Thompson Scores 34, Lifts Warriors Past Spurs

Ronald Martinez/Getty Images(SAN ANTONIO) -- Klay Thompson scored a career-high 34 points and grabbed 14 rebounds leading the Golden State Warriors to a 100-91 victory over the San Antonio Spurs Wednesday night.

The second round playoff series is now tied at one.

The win marks the first time the Warriors have won in San Antonio since Feb. 14 1997.

Thompson had 17 points in the second quarter and finished the game 8-for-9 from 3-point land. Stephen Curry finished the game with 22 points.

"I said I've got the greatest shooting backcourt that's ever played the game," Warriors head coach Mark Jackson said. "Call my bluff."

The Warriors had a 19 point lead at the half, but the Spurs widdled that down to eight with 37 seconds left in the third quarter. That momentum shift didn't last long as Thompson nailed a three at the buzzer to put the Warriors up 83-72 heading into the fourth. 

Tim Duncan had 23 points and nine rebounds in the loss.

Game 3 is Friday in Oakland. Tip-off expected at 10:30 p.m. Eastern.

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Ginobili Lifts Spurs Over Warriors in Double Overtime Thriller

Ronald Martinez/Getty Images(SAN ANTONIO, TX) --  Manu Ginobili hit a three-pointer with 1.2 seconds left in double overtime to lead the San Antonio Spurs to a 129-127 series-opening win over the Golden State Warriors on Monday night.

The Spurs trailed by 16 points with 4:30 left in regulation, but closed the fourth quarter on an 18-2 run to force overtime.

Golden State trailed by five with one minute left in the second overtime before scoring six-straight points to take a 127-126 lead with 3.4 seconds left.

Then, in the final seconds, Kawai Leonard found Ginobili on a cross-court pass for the game-winning shot.

"It's only the second one I made all day," Ginobili said. "Good timing, though."

Tony Parker led the Spurs with 28 points.  Tim Duncan had 19 points and 11 rebounds while battling a stomach bug.

Stephen Curry led the Warriors with 44 points and 11 assists.  They have now lost 30 straight games in San Antonio dating back to 1997.

Game 2 is set for Wednesday night in San Antonio.

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Spurs Bash Lakers 103-82 to Complete Series Sweep

Jeff Gross/Getty Image(LOS ANGELES) --  Just like that, it was the end of a tumultuous season for the Los Angeles Lakers.

Tony Parker scored 23 points as the San Antonio Spurs completed its first-round sweep of the injury-plagued Lakers with a 103-82 victory in Game 4.

The Spurs led by as many as 25 points in the win and never trailed.

"Obviously, it wasn't a fair fight," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "When you're a competitor, you want to compete on an even basis, and the Lakers weren't able to do that...Even though it wasn't a fair fight, we still want to win the series, and I'm glad we did. Our focus was great."

Dwight Howard had seven points and eight rebounds for the Lakers before getting ejected in the third quarter after picking up his second technical foul.  Pau Gasol paced the team with 16 points.

Howard said after the game that the season was "like a nightmare. It's like a bad dream, and we just couldn't wake up from it. That's what it felt like."

Tim Duncan added 11 points for the Spurs, who will face the winner of Golden State's series with Denver in the Western Conference semifinals.

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Spurs Cruise Past Lakers: Take 2-0 Series Lead

Ronald Martinez/Getty Images(SAN ANTONIO) -- Tony Parker scored 24 of his game high 28 points in the second half, as he led the San Antonio Spurs past the Los Angeles Lakers 102-91, Wednesday night to take a 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series.

"We always need him to be aggressive," Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich said when talking about Parker's third quarter scoring. "He knew that...he's been around long enough to know what was going on and we needed to score and needed to establish some momentum offensively. He really did a great job in that third quarter and got us going."

Parker came on strong in the third quarter scoring 15 points. Kawhi Leonard and Tim Duncan both scored 16 points while Manu Ginobili scored 13 points in 19 minutes of play.

Dwight Howard led the Lakers with 16 points, nine rebounds and four blocks in the loss.

After the game Lakers' forward Metta World Peace was asked if the Lakers were losing because of the the loss of Kobe Bryant, who is out for the season.

"We got Dwight Howard....we still got Pau....so that's just a way out," World Peace said. "That's just an excuse. And I appreciate you trying to help us with excuses -- I really do appreciate that -- but I can't really take that invitation."

Game 3 will be in Los Angeles Friday night. Tip-off is set for 10:30 p.m. Eastern time.

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Spurs Knock Off Lakers in Game One

Ronald Martinez/Getty Images(SAN ANTONIO) -- Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili each scored 18 points, as the San Antonio Spurs leveled the Los Angeles Lakers 91-79 in Game 1 of their first round playoff series Sunday.

Veteran Tim Duncan had 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Spurs, who snapped a three-game losing streak.

"We didn't have a great end of the season," Duncan said. "Injuries and trying to rest guys to be in the right state coming into the playoffs. It's good to be here, good to turn it up and good to have everybody into form."

Manu Ginobili, who had missed nine straight games with a hamstring injury before playing in the last two, shot 6 for 13 from the field and hit 3 of his 5 threes.

The Lakers Steve Nash returned from a nine-game absence due to hip/hamstring injuries to score 16 points.

Dwight Howard had 20 points and 15 rebounds in the loss.

Game 2 will take place Wednesday in San Antonio. Start time is set for 9:30 pm Eastern time.

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Thunder Top Spurs, Move a Half-Game Out of First

Ronald Martinez/Getty Images(OKLAHOMA CITY) -- Russell Westbrook scored 27 and Kevin Durant added 25, leading the Oklahoma City Thunder past the San Antonio Spurs 100-88 on Thursday night.

The win puts the Thunder (55-20) a half-game behind the Spurs (56-20) for the top seed in the Western Conference.

"It's important for us to play well at the right time of the season," Durant said to Turner Sports after the game. "This is a great, great team (Spurs)...they're missing a few guys. We just wanted to come out here and get better, and I think we did."

The Spurs, who have lost Manu Ginobili to a strained hamstring for what sounds like the rest of the month, had to play the final seven minutes of the game without Tony Parker, who was dealing with a shin injury.

The Thunder will now head to Indianapolis for a Friday night showdown with the Pacers.

The Spurs, who lost for the third time in four games, get a day off before they host the Atlanta Hawks Saturday.

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Spurs' Guard Tony Parker Out A Month With Ankle Sprain

NBA via San Antonio Spurs(NEW YORK) -- If the San Antonio Spurs want to keep the top seed in the Western Conference, they'll have to do it without point guard Tony Parker for the foreseeable future as the team announced Parker will miss the next month with a left ankle sprain.

Parker was injured in the third quarter during the team's game against the Sacramento Kings on Friday. As Parker drove down the lane for a layup, he twisted his body in mid-air and landed awkwardly on his left ankle.

This is a tough break for the Spurs, who at 46-14, own the NBA's best record. Behind Parker, the Spurs average 104.7 points per game, which is fourth is in the NBA.

For Parker, this comes as an individual blow as well as he is enjoying perhaps his finest season in the NBA. The 30-year-old Parker is averaging 21.0 points and 7.6 assists per game. He's also shooting .533% from the floor and is a focal point of the Spurs offense.

While Parker will miss a bulk of the remainder of the season, he is expected to be ready to play before the postseason begins.

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