NBA: Spurs throttle Warriors, one away from Western Conference Finals

The San Antonio Spurs brought the full force of their defense to bear on the Golden State Warriors, clamping down on the visiting side's scorers to forge a 109-91 victory and a 3-2 lead in their Western Conference semifinals series, Tuesday (Wednesday, PHL time) at the AT&T Center in San Antonio.

The two sides had split their previous games, with each team picking up a win at home on the road. The Spurs triumphed 129-127 in double overtime (game one) and 102-92 (game three), while the Warriors were victorious, 100-91 (game two) and 97-87 (game four, overtime).

A close start to the first quarter gave way to the Spurs surging ahead, via a 13-0 run, for a 27-15 lead, 2:59 in the period. The Warriors however got a late trey from Jarrett Jack to make it a single-digit difference, 37-28, after the first 12 minutes.

The Warriors battled back in the second, finding themselves within range multiple times. A Carl Landry dunk off a Stephen Curry find got Golden State within two, 44-42, only for Danny Green to extinguish their run with a trey.

Jarrett Jack made it a two-point game anew, 49-47, only for Green to counter once more with a deuce. Tony Parker added a free throw for a 52-47 tally, but a split by Carl Landry and a trey from Stephen Curry got it down to just a one-point affair, 52-51.

Kawhi Leonard was there though for the last word, hitting a jumper off a Manu Ginobili assist to make it a three-point game, heading into the break.

Green continued to be the thorn in the Warriors' side in the third, dishing out back-to-back assists for key baskets when Golden State was within two anew. Curry connected on a lay-up to make it 64-60, but off a timeout, seven unanswered, five from Green, made it an 11-point game in favor of San Antonio, 71-60, halfway through the quarter.

Kawhi Leonard and former Spur Richard Jefferson exchanged triples, but Manu Ginobili closed out the period with a pair of free throws, to put the score at 83-70 with a quarter left.

David Lee and Jarret Jack got Golden State within single digits early in the fourth, 85-76, but five from the Parker-Ginobili veteran backcourt negated that run.

Rookie Harrison Barnes continued to shine, scoring six, but the Spurs used 10 unanswered points to finally run away with this one, making it 102-84 with 4:04 to play. The large difference forced Warriors head coach Mark Jackson to sub out his starters. with Spurs counterpart Gregg Popovich doing the same late.

Tony Parker amassed a double-double of 25 points and 10 assists to lead the Spurs. Shooters Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green added 17 and 16 markers, respectively, while Tim Duncan started strong, finishing with a double-double of well, 14 points and 11 rebounds.

Manu Ginobili and Boris Diaw combined for 18 points and eight assists off the bench.

Stephen Curry was held to just nine points on 4-of-14 shooting. He went 1-of-7 from downtown and had no free throws, though he did managed eight assists versus four turnovers.

Harrison Barnes led the Warriors with 25 points and seven rebound. Jarret Jack came off the bench for 20, while Carl Landry scored 16. Center Andrew Bogut was limited to 19 and a half minutes because of pain in his ankle, finishing with a mere two points and six rebounds.

The Spurs shot 51.9 percent from the floor, getting 30 assists on their 40 made attempts, as San Antonio found the seams in the Warriors' zone defense. The home team also hit 10-of-21 three-pointers, normally the Warriors forte. - AMD, GMA News