The Spurs rolled up a 83-56 lead after three quaters and they cruised to a very easy victory over the Jazz.  The Spurs shot an amazing 51.3% from the floor while holding the Jazz to 38.2% shooting from the floor and those were big reasons for the easy victory last night.  Tim Duncan led the way for the Spurs with 21 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists.  Tony Parker also was outstanding with 21 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists.  Manu Ginobili provided some energy off of the bench with 12 points and 5 rebounds.  Michael Finley (9 points, 2 rebounds) and Brent Barry (9 points in 17 minutes) both helped the cause.  The Spurs won this series 4 games to 1 over the Jazz as they captured the Western Conference Championship and await either the Detroit Pistons or the Cleveland Cavaliers to play in the NBA Finals.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=270530024

The Spurs dominated the 4th quarter as they outscored Jazz 28-17 to win the ballgame last night.  Manu Ginobili led the way for the Spurs with 22 points, 6 rebounds and 3 steals.  Tim Duncan ruled the paint with 19 points, 9 rebounds and 5 blocked shots.  Tony Parker added 17 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.  Michael Finley (13 points, 2 assists) and Fabricio Oberto (11 points, 11 rebounds) also were key figures in the Spurs impressive win in Utah.  The Spurs now lead this series 3-1.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=270528026

The Spurs played a horrible game and the Jazz made them pay for it.  The Jazz hit 53.2% of their shots from the floor and they outscored the Spurs 66-36 in the 2nd half!  Tony Parker led the way for the Spurs with 25 points and 7 assists.  Tim Duncan scored 16 points, grabbed 8 rebounds and dished out 3 assists.  Both Parker and Duncan were abused by Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer who combined for 58 points on Saturday Night.  Manu Ginobili also had a rough game off of the bench as he shot 4 for 12 from the floor and he finished with 14 points and 4 assists.  The Spurs still hold a 2-1 edge in this series.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=270526026

The Spurs raced out to a 58-41 haltime lead and then held off the pesky Jazz in the 2nd half to win the game.  The Spurs shot an amazing 55.6% from the floor and they outrebounded the Jazz 44-35 and those were the two biggest reasons for the victory.  Tim Duncan was awesome last night with 26 points, 14 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 5 blocked shots.  Tony Parker was outstanding in running the offense with 17 points, 3 rebounds and 14 assists.  Manu Ginobili had another good game off of the bench with 17 points, 4 rebounds and  3 assists.  Fabricio Oberto had his best game of the playoffs so far with 14 points and 7 rebounds.  Michael Finley had a very productive 23 minutes on the court as he scored 11 points and grabbed 6 rebounds.  The Spurs are now up 2-0 in the series against the Jazz as the series shifts to Salt Lake City.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=270522024

The Spurs rushed out to a big lead and then they had to hold off the Jazz who made a rush at them in the 2nd half.  The Spurs were outrebounded 48-33 but it didn’t matter as the Spurs shot 54.3% from the floor.  Tim Duncan had a great game with 27 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists.  Manu Ginobili was outstanding off of the bench with 23 points, 4 rebounds and 10 assists.  Fabricio Oberto started and had a good game with 14 points and 7 rebounds.  Tony Parker made everything go with 21 points, 2 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals.  Michael Finley pitched in with 14 points.  The Spurs now lead this series 1-0.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=270520024

This should be an outstanding matchup in the Western Conference Finals between two great basketball teams.  The Jazz win basketball games because they’re an outstanding rebounding team.  In 12 playoffs games so far this season the Jazz have outrebounded their opponents 46.5-38.5 so far this post-season.  But, the Spurs are a good rebounding team too, so I’m forecasting a very physical series.  Here’s a closer look at the matchups in this series:

POINT GUARD:  Deron Williams has continued his fine play into the playoffs this season.  In the Jazz 12 playoff games so far this season, Williams has averaged 16.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, 8.9 assists and 1.17 steals per game.  Williams is a pure point guard but he’s not shy about taking his shot.  That will be important in this series.  Tony Parker on the other hand is a shoot-first point guard.  He has averaged 19.6 points, 3.0 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 1.0 steals per game in the playoffs so far.  He has a great in-between game from the top of the key to 10-12 feet from the basket.  His game reminds me quite a bit of Joe Dumars.  EDGE:  EVEN

SHOOTING GUARD:  This is a matchup of a couple of old timers and it should be fun to watch.  Michael Finley just keeps rolling along.  He’s no longer the high flying dunking machine of his earlier years as he’s much more content to fire from the outside.  Finley has averaged 14.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game so far in the playoffs.  He also has hit 45.9% from the three-point line.  Derek Fisher has also played very well in the playoffs as he’s averaged 11.0 points, 1.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game.  Fisher also has shot well from three-point range as he’s hit 45.8% of them in the playoffs.  EDGE:  EVEN

SMALL FORWARD:  This will be a battle of two of the best defensive players in the NBA.  As long as Andrei Kirilenko isn’t crying like a little baby, the Jazz should have a advantage here.  Kirilenko has averaged 9.8 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.67 blocks per game in the playoffs.  Bruce Bowen is averaging 6.9 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.91 steals per game so far in the playoffs.  He’s not only a defender as he is a good three-point shooter.  EDGE:  JAZZ

POWER FORWARD:  This is the matchup that everyone will be watching.  Tim Duncan vs. Carlos Boozer!  Tim Duncan usually rises to the challenge when he’s against a star caliber player so look out in this series.  Duncan has averaged 23.8 points, 12.3 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 3.55 blocks per game in the playoffs this season so far.  Look for him to use his height advantage against Boozer as often as he can.  Boozer is a tough guy that plays at 100% effort at all times.  He is averaging 24.4 points, 12.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game in the playoffs so far.  Look for Boozer to have another good series for the Jazz.   EDGE:  SLIGHT FOR THE SPURS

CENTER:  This is an area where the Jazz have a huge advantage over the Spurs.  Mehmet Okur is an outstanding offensive player that can extend his shooting range beyond the three-point line which cause matchup problems for the Jazz’ opponents.  Okur has averaged 13.7 points, 9.1 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.5 steals per game so far in the playoffs.  Francisco Elson hasn’t done much for the Spurs thus far in the playoffs and that’s part of the reason why Fabricio Oberto has started the last couple of games.  Look for the Spurs to let Elson have his starting job back for this series.  He is only averaging 2.8 points and 3.6 rebounds so far in the playoffs.   EDGE:  HUGE FOR THE JAZZ

BENCH:  The Jazz have only really played three players off of their bench and don’t look for that to change right now.  Matt Harpring is the most important player off of the bench for the Jazz because he plays 100% at all times and it rubs off on his teammates.  Harpring is averaging 27.0 minutes per game in the playoffs and he’s averaging 10.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game.  Gordan Giricek has started 2 games in the playoffs (due to Derek Fisher spending time with his little girl who we all should say a prayer for) and he’s come off of the bench in the other 10 games.  Giricek is averaging 6.5 points and 2.1 rebounds per game in the playoffs.  Paul Millsap is the muscle off of the bench for the Jazz.  The rookie is averaging 5.9 points and 4.3 rebounds per game in only 14.5 minutes per night.

The Spurs have a very deep bench and they’re not shy about using it.  Manu Ginobili is one of the best 6th men in the NBA as he brings energy to the whole team due to his style of reckless play.  Ginobili is averaging 15.8 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.91 steals per game in the playoffs so far.  The Spurs need him to regain his shooting touch as he’s only hitting 38% from the floor in the playoffs.  Robert Horry was the real MVP of the last series as he hurt the Suns big-time due to the suspensions he drew to Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw for game #5 of the series with the Suns.  He also is still a clutch player when the lights of the playoffs are burning brightly.  Horry has averaged 6.4 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.44 blocks per game.  Fabricio Oberto splits time in the middle with Elson and they do a passable job in the pivot.  Oberto is averaging 4.0 points and 3.8 rebounds per game in the playoffs.  Brent Barry and Jacque Vaughn are both averaging only 2.2 points per game in the playoffs so far.  But Barry can hit the key three-pointer as he’s an outstanding shooter.   EDGE:  EVEN

PREDICTION:  This should be an outstanding series, but I’m going with the Spurs in 7 due to their playoff experience and home court advantage.

The Spurs built up a 81-67 lead after three quarters on Friday Night and that was too much for the Suns to overcome.  Manu Ginobili was awesome off of the bench for the Spurs as he led the way with 33 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals in 36 minutes on the court.  Tony Parker only shot 11 for 27 from the floor but he still wound up with 30 points, 2 rebounds and 6 assists.  Tim Duncan was the ruler of the paint as he scored 24 points, snapped up 13 rebounds and blocked 9 shots!  Michael Finley also pitched in with 11 points and 3 rebounds.  The Spurs won this series 4 games to 2 against the Suns and they will now advance to the Western Conference Finals against the Utah Jazz.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=270518024

Things were not looking good heading into the 4th quarter for the San Antonio Spurs as they were losing 62-56, but then the Spurs poured it on as they outscored the Suns 32-23 in the 4th quarter to win the game.  Manu Ginobili was on fire off of the bench with 26 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists.  Tim Duncan was outstanding inside for the Spurs with 21 points, 12 rebounds, 2 assists and 5 blocked shots.  Michael Finley (13 points, 3 rebounds) and Tony Parker (11 points, 2 rebounds and 5 assists) both had off nights for the Spurs.  Bruce Bowen was very active with 9 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 4 steals.  The Spurs now lead this series 4-2 as it shifts back to San Antonio.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=270516021

Things were looking good for the Spurs entering the 4th quarter with a 80-72 lead, but then the roof caved in on them.  The Spurs were outscored 32-18 in the 4th quarter and they lost game #4 on their own court.  The Spurs also got outrebounded by the Suns 42-32 and that hurt.  Tony Parker led the way for the Spurs with 23 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists.  Tim Duncan also had a good game with 21 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 blocked shots.  Michael Finley produced 17 points and 5 rebounds.  Brent Barry had a good game off of the bench with 12 points and 2 assists in only 19 minutes on the court.  Manu Ginobili only shot 3 of 14 from the floor and he finished with 10 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals.  The Spurs and Suns are now tied 2-2 in this series.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=270514024

The Spurs really played a physical game on Saturday and the Suns couldn’t handle it.  The Spurs outrebounded the Suns 47-39 and that helped them win this game.  Tim Duncan was awesome in this game with 33 points, 19 rebounds and 3 blocked shots.  Manu Ginobili was outstanding off of the bench with 24 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals.  Tony Parker did a decent job running the offense with 16 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists.  Bruce Bowen had a solid game with 10 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists and 4 steals.  Michael Finley had a rough game as he only shot 2 for 10 from the floor and he finished with 9 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists.  The Spurs are now up 2-1 in this series.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=270512024