Spurs win Game 3 at home

In the Western Conference Finals, Manu Ginobli finally showed up! After being humiliated by the Lakers in a 30 point loss the other day, the Suh-Purs-Star finally rose to the occasion to score 30 pts and lead the San Antonio Spurs to a 103-84 conquest over the favored Los Angeles Lakers. More importantly, the win gave the Spurs breathing room and is back in the series as they trail 1-2 against the Lakers.

From a 30-all stand off in the second quarter, the Spurs used a 19-9 run anchored on the Big 3 to close the first half with a ten point lead 49-39. From that point the Spurs would quell any rally attempt made by Kobe Bryant and the Lakers as the Spurs started the fourth quarter with 10 unanswered points after Jordan Farmar connected on at three. Pau Gasol, who scored 15 points was scoreless in that quarter.

The most telling stat difference was the Field Goal % difference of 51.4% to 42.7 % in favor of the Spurs plus the 47.1 % Free Throw percentage of the Lakers and add to that the assists difference of 22 to 13 in favor of the Spurs again. This shows that the Spurs had better ball movement while the Lakers didn’t distribute that much.

Tim Duncan and Tony Parker supported Ginobli by scoring 22 and 20 points respectively as the Spurs responded with a win in their home court. Duncan also hauled down 21 rebounds and like Parker he also had 5 assists. Kobe Bryant was his usual self scoring 30 points while his supporting cast only had Gasol and Farmar (10pts) score in double figures.

Game 4 would be another crucial one for both teams as the Lakers try to take a 3-1 lead and the Spurs try to defend their home court and make a series out of this one by leveling the count at 2 wins apiece. Lets wait and see.