NBA: Spurs return to Western Conference Finals, out-gun Warriors late

The San Antonio Spurs are returning to the Western Conference Finals anew.

The veteran squad out-executed the young Golden State Warriors late on the road, as fourth quarter three-pointers earned them a 94-82 win and a 4-2 series triumph, Thursday (Friday, PHL time) at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California.

San Antonio will move on to play the Memphis Grizzlies in the Western Conference Finals.

The two teams have been trading wins back and forth, with the Spurs taking game one in double overtime, 129-127. The Warriors on in San Antonio, 100-91, before splitting their next two, losing 102-92 in Golden State, before evening the series in game four, 97-87. The Spurs then got the edge back in San Antonio, 109-91, before closing this out in San Francisco.

A closely-fought first quarter saw six lead changes and five deadlocks, with the Spurs coming out on top slightly, 21-19 after the initial 12 minutes of play. Jarrett Jack forged another deadlock at 23-all, 9:39 left in the second, but the Spurs reeled off 10 straight, holding their foes scoreless for three minutes.

Back-to-back hits by Stephen Curry and Harrison Barnes sliced their deficit down to three, 37-34, but San Antonio hit back for six unanswered, 45-36, though the Splash Brothers pair of Curry and Klay Thompson ate into that slightly before the break, 47-40.

The Spurs hit 50 percent of their tries in the first half, getting 16 assists on 18 field goals. The Warriors comparatively were a decent 40.9 percent, but just 2-of-6 from downtown.

After the break, the big men of the Spurs made it a 10-point game anew, 53-43, on a pull-up by Tim Duncan, 8:03 left. Five straight from the visting side ballooned their advantage to 12 after the Warriors made a mini-run, 61-48, 4:25 left in the third, but the home team closed out strong. A 6-0 run from the Golden State role-players made it a six-point affair, but Manu Ginobili closed out the period with a split at the line, 66-59.

A 6-2 blast by the Warriors got them within three points, 70-67 at the dawn of the fourth period, but hits from Ginobili and Kawhi Leonard held them off temporarily, 74-67. An and-one play by David Lee was neutralized by a Danny Green trey, but the Warriors were undaunted, unloading a 5-0 barrage for just a two-point deficit, 77-75.

After three minutes of silence, great ball movement from the Spurs resulted in a wide-open trey for Tony Parker. Two free throws by Kawhi Leonard made it a seven-point difference anew, but a floater and two charities from Jarrett Jack kept it at a single-possession game, 82-79.

San Antonio then stole a page from the Golden State playbook, turning to the three-point shot to close this one out. With Tim Duncan sitting on the bench, the Spurs were able to spread the floor and work the ball into the corner for treys. Back-to-back connections, one each from Leonard and Parker, sandwiched a pair of in-and-out triples from the Splash Brothers, 88-79, 1:15 left.

After a put-back dunk by Carl Landry, free throws by Parker and a Gary Neal turnaround closed out the game.

All five Spurs starters finished in double-figures, led by Tim Duncan's 19 points, six rebounds and three blocks. Kawhi Leonard added a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili combined for 18 points and 19 assists.

The Warriors drew 22 points from Stephen Curry, who was just 10-of-25 from the field, 2-of-8 from downtown. He also added six assists in 40 minutes of play. Jarret Jack and Carl Landry scored 15 and 11 points off the bench.

David Lee notched nine points and five rebounds in limited minutes, but Klay Thompson was offline anew, with just 10. Rookie Harrison Barnes suffered a bad fall, just before halftime, came back to play the entire third quarter, but had to sit the fourth due to a headache.

Overall, the Spurs defense held their foes to just 38.8 percent shooting, while converting 45.2 percent of their own attempts. San Antonio was 7-of-19 from downtown, 4-of-5 in the final period. They also out-assisted the Warriors, 27-18. - AMD, GMA News