NBA: Parker, Spurs slam Lakers in second half to defend home court

The San Antonio Spurs got a huge 28-point performance from Tony Parker, including seven straight late, to close out the game, as they used a 102-91 victory, Wednesday (Thursday, PHL time) at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas, to improve to 2-0 in their Western Conference quarterfinals series.

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San Antonio, who reached the Western Conference finals last season, had previously won game one 91-79.  

In the first half, the two sides went back-and-forth, with nine lead changes and eight ties, but the home team got the better of the exchange, as they found themselves on top by as much as eight points, compared to just two-point leads for the Lakers.

At the start of the second period, scores by Manu Ginobili and Cory Joseph made it 32-23, less than a minute in, but the Lakers managed to edge ahead on a Dwight Howard and-one off a Pau Gasol find, 44-43, 2:55 left.

Matt Bonner countered with a triple, while Pau Gasol equalized the game anew at 46-all, but the Spurs finished strongly, using a 10-2 run for a 56-48 advantage at the break.

In the third, the closest LA would get was within six points, as Metta World Peace found Steve Blake for a triple, 65-59, 7:17 left in the period. However, they were hamstrung by the absence of Howard, who was called for his fourth foul at the 8:37 mark, forcing LA to shift Pau Gasol to the center.

A split at the line by both Gasol and Ginobili made it 76-68 late, but Gary Neal closed things out with a jumper, to keep the Spurs up by double-digits with one last canto to play, 78-68.

Earl Clark drew first blood at the start of the fourth quarter, getting the Lakers' deficit to single-digits, 78-70. It was short-lived though, as the Spurs countered with a 13-4 blast, capped by a Matt Bonner triple that put the score at 91-74, with 6:10 left in the game.

A 10-2 run by the Lakers made it a single-digit affair anew, 93-84, only for Tony Parker to single-handedly put the game away with seven unanswered points, 100-84, 1:14 left prior to the final buzzer.

Parker's 28 points came with four rebounds and seven assists. Kawhi Leonard and Tim Duncan chipped in 16 points apiece, while Manu Ginobili came off the bench for 13 markers, five rebounds and seven assists.

Dwight Howard finished with 16 points, nine rebounds and four blocks, but he was hampered by five fouls , and committed a team-high five turnovers. Steve Blake also added 16 points, nine coming from downtown. Pau Gasol and Metta World Peace managed 13 apiece and a combined 14 rebounds, while Darius Morris came off the bench with 10 points.

San Antonio shot 51.2 percent from the floor, 50 percent from downtown, hitting at a much more efficient rate than LA's 45.1 percent field goal shooting, and 36.4 percent clip on three-pointers.

The Spurs got a slight edge in fast break points, 17-11, but that was evened out by the Lakers' 16-10 advantage in second-chance points. - AMD, GMA News