San Antonio, Utah even it up
Duncan soars, Kirilenko shines
The San Antonio Spurs and the Utah Jazz tied their respective Western Conference semifinals series at 2 yesterday, with Tim Duncan having his best game of the series in leading the Spurs to a rout of the New Orleans Hornets and Andrei Kirilenko lifting the Jazz to an overtime victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.
Duncan scored 22 points, grabbed 15 rebounds, and blocked four shots in the Spurs' 100-80 victory over the Hornets last night in San Antonio.
"I'm just trying to do my part," Duncan said. "It's just that. You've got to step up at playoff time. It's win or go home. So you've got to step up and make plays."
The Spurs have stormed back from an 0-2 deficit that looked as if it would be tough to overcome, especially after the losses in Games 1 and 2 were each by nearly 20 points. Tony Parker added 21 points for the Spurs.
"We've got to play Game 5 the same way we approached Game 3 and 4," San Antonio's Manu Ginobili said. "That is going to be huge, so we don't have to have any satisfaction with what we just accomplished. We are the same way we started."
The Spurs led by as many as 27 and were ahead nearly the entire game. They shot 51 percent (39 of 76), while the Hornets were cold. They shot 37 percent through three quarters and finished 33 of 82 (40 percent) from the field.
"Our intensity was terrible. From Game 1 to Game 4, ours has gotten worse and theirs has gotten better," Hornets coach Byron Scott said. "And that's been the difference. They're just kicking our butts right now. Is that simple enough?"
San Antonio scored 40 points in the paint. New Orleans' plan to keep Parker out of the lane didn't work, as he knifed his way through heavy traffic or found openings to get to the rim, and hit jumpers.
Ginobili, who also got to the rim at will in Game 3, wasn't as successful in Game 4. But he hit jumpers and two 3-pointers, finishing with 15 points. Parker and Ginobili each had eight of the Spurs' 27 assists. The Hornets had 12 assists - five from Paul.
The Hornets were hoping to return to New Orleans with a commanding 3-1 series lead, but allowed Duncan and Parker to shoot a combined 18 of 25 from the field. The only area where the duo struggled was its free-throw shooting. Duncan was 2 of 5 and Parker 5 of 8.
"I really can't explain this one," Paul said. "We just looked pretty bad out there tonight. We've got to bounce back. We came out here to try and get a win here and we came up short. But the good thing about it is it's just 2 to 2 now. Now it's a three-game series. First one to win two games wins it. There's no time to panic."
The Spurs still need to win one on the Hornets' court. So far that's been a tough task, with only one team losing at home in the second round of the playoffs.
Jazz 123, Lakers 115 - Kirilenko blocked Kobe Bryant twice in overtime and converted a 3-point play with 35 seconds remaining as Utah won in Salt Lake City.
The Jazz went 9 for 9 from the foul line in overtime and outscored the Lakers, 15-7, in the extra five minutes.
Deron Williams had 29 points and 14 assists, while Carlos Boozer scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half and grabbed 12 rebounds. Kirilenko finished with 15 points and five blocks.
Bryant had 33 points and 10 assists.
The Jazz let a 12-point slip in the last four minutes of regulation. But Utah played its toughest defense of the playoffs in overtime and pulled out the victory. 