Spurs Do What They Do Best... Win The Tough Ones, Sending The Hornets Packing

Kobe And Da' Lakers Better Look Out,These Three Are Some Bad, B-Ball Play'n Boys!

'One thing I want them to remember when they start working out next season is how they feel right now... You don't go from not making the playoffs last year) to winning a championship. It just doesn't work that way...

We're headed in the right direction.'' --- NBA Champion and current Hornets Coach Byron Scottafter loosing last night to a classic, hard nose, get the job done, San Antonio Spurs.

As Manu Ginobili dribbled out the final few seconds of the second-round series clincher, Tony Parker walked over and gave him a congratulatory pat on the head.

There would be no exuberant celebration for the San Antonio Spurs when the final horn sounded, just a few hugs for a job well done. This playoff-savvy group was exhausted after a seven-game triumph over the younger, upstart New Orleans Hornets , but its title defense endures - for now.

Ginobili scored 26 points, hitting four free throws in the final minute, to send the Spurs to the Western Conference finals with a 91-82 victory Monday night.

Parker added 17 points, including a crucial jumper in the final minute, as the Spurs held off a late rally to become the first team in this series to win on the road.

Sports Illustrated has more

Champion San Antonio Spurs Just Won't Go Away, Force Game 7

Third Quarter Is Pivotal In All 6 Previous Games

You could only assume that what happened in the third quarter last night, as usual with these two teams, would decide whether Tim Duncan could pack for one more trip to the French Quarter or pack for a long vacation on Maui.

As San Antonio's Tony Parker helpfully observed: "The whole series, man. Third quarter looks like it's pivotal."

That third quarter was ugly," Hornets guard Chris Paul conceded.

"Ugly."

Fatal might be a better word after the pattern continued late Thursday. It was an unreservedly hideous third quarter, this time endured by the New Orleans Hornets, which helped San Antonio pull away for a 99-80 rout that, at the very least, takes Team Duncan's bid to win back-to-back titles for the first time through to Monday night.

In the intervening three days until the decider, expect to hear loads about how the playoff rookies from New Orleans have outscored the reigning champs by a tidy count of 93-46 at home in the third quarters of their three victories ... and how the Hornets completely buckled in the third quarter of a Game 6 that could have eliminated the Spurs.

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