It's little wonder why the San Antonio Spurs are the defending NBA champions and have won four titles in nine seasons in building their own dynasty over that same period. After looking like a non-contenders in New Orleans in the first two games, the Spurs revved up the intensity at home and tied the series 2-2 with a pair of dominant victories.
Down 2-0 in their Western Conference semi-final series against the young-and-upstart New Orleans Hornets, it looked like the Spurs were dead in the water after Chris Paul and the rest of the Hornets posted two outstanding performances.
In the two road playoff losses, San Antonio didn't seem to have an answer to Paul, especially in the second half that saw New Orleans outscore the Spurs 56-33 during its 101-82 victory in Game 1. Paul and fellow Hornet David West shot the lights out down the stretch, while the defending champs couldn't do the same and hit cold spells in the second half. Tim Duncan was completely shutdown, as Tyson Chandler made things difficult for the two-time MVP.
The Spurs seemed equally outmatched in Game 2. Duncan was a little more productive with 18 points and eight rebounds, but New Orleans had another brilliant second half, notching 36 third-quarter points and eventually taking a 2-0 series lead with a 102-84 victory. Tony Parker, who looked so dominant against the Phoenix Suns in round one, looked mediocre and only managed 11 points being defended by Paul. The same could be said about Manu Ginobili, who notched only 13 points in the loss.
Given the dominant play of the Hornets and losses by nearly 20 points in the first two games, San Antonio's season seemed all but finished, unless the team received better performances from its best players the rest of the series.
The Spurs regrouped as a team and held serve on their home court to even the series at 2-2, as Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili came through in the clutch to keep their playoff hopes alive. Strong second-half play from San Antonio, the team's akilis heel in Game 1 and 2, was the difference in both home games as well as 31-point efforts from both Parker and Ginobili during the Spurs' 110-99 win in Game 3.
As was the case in New Orleans, the home team was dominant from start to finish in a 100-80 San Antonio triumph to even the series. While it was Parker and Ginobili to lift the Spurs over the Hornets in Game 3, Duncan came through with his best game of the series with 22 points, 15 rebounds, and four blocks. After 16 points in Game 3, he returned to his MVP level.
While Duncan was a standout in Game 4, the play of Parker and Ginobili has ultimately turned the momentum of the series around and now have the Spurs playing much better basketball heading back to New Orleans. So after being completely dominated in the state of Louisiana and looking like a non-playoff contenders, the Spurs returned to the state of Texas and played like defending NBA champions.
The Spurs-Hornets series resumes tonight with Game 5 in what comes down to a best-of-three showdown. All the Spurs need is a road victory and they'll be in good shape going back home for Game 6. In the second round the team teams are 15-1, so if San Antonio can win in New Orleans, it will go a long way in their defense of the NBA title.
