05/09/2008 - San Antonio, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker each poured in 31 points as San Antonio used a strong second half to beat New Orleans, 110-99, in the pivotal Game 3 of their Western Conference semifinal series.
The Spurs now trail the best-of-seven series by a 2-1 margin with Game 4 scheduled for San Antonio on Sunday.
Parker added 11 assists for the Spurs, who are a perfect 4-0 at home in this year's playoffs and have won three straight Game 3s in the postseason.
"I thought our play overall was more aggressive, more physical than it was the first two games," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "I thought they really won that contest, that physicality part that's always there in the playoffs. I thought they took it to us in the first two games in that regard."
Tim Duncan chipped in with 16 points and 13 rebounds, while defensive specialist Bruce Bowen had 12 points on 4-of-9 shooting from three-point range.
"We changed our strategy a bit," Duncan said. "I thought we did a pretty good job of taking some stuff away from them and not just let them kind of run rampant. We defended the three-point line a lot better."
The dynamic Chris Paul finished with 35 points and nine assists for the Hornets.
"We knew coming in here that these two games were going to be tough," Hornets coach Byron Scott said. "They are the champs. They're not just going to lay down. We had our opportunities, there's no doubt about that."
David West had 23 points and 12 boards, while Tyson Chandler netted 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds for New Orleans.
The Spurs entered the fourth quarter with a five-point edge but New Orleans quickly closed the gap and clawed to within a bucket, 90-88, when West converted a turnaround jumper with 10:02 left.
San Antonio responded, however, and broke open the game with an 11-0 run. Parker fueled the burst with a driving layup and Bowen finished it with a long three from the left corner to give the Spurs a comfortable 101-88 cushion with just 5:57 remaining.
The Hornets never got closer than 10 points the rest of the way as San Antonio held on for its first win of the series.
The Hornets raced out of the blocks by scoring the game's first eight points. West opened things with a turnaround jumper and then closed the mini-run with another jumper less than three minutes into the game.
San Antonio survived the opening salvo and finally evened things when Parker deposited a running jumper with 3:29 left in the frame.
New Orleans managed to steady itself a bit and take a slim 23-21 lead after the opening 12 minutes.
The Spurs took their first lead of the game, 24-23, when Ginobili converted a conventional three-point play to open the second quarter.
Moments later, Michael Finley drilled a three to give San Antonio its largest lead of the half, 33-29.
The Hornets recovered well and see-sawed back in front with an 9-2 run late in the quarter. Peja Stojakovic and Morris Peterson stroked consecutive threes and New Orleans took a 56-49 lead into the locker room.
Bowen then hit a three before Ginobili closed the half with a fadeaway jumper at the buzzer as San Antonio trailed by just two, 56-54, heading to the locker room.
Things remained razor close in the third quarter. Paul got loose for a layup, with just under eight minutes to go in the frame, to put the Hornets up by four, 66-62.
The Spurs fought back again and went back in front, 73-72, after Duncan connected on a half-hook with just under three minutes left in the frame.
San Antonio continued to play well for the rest of the quarter and took an 83-78 edge into the final frame when Ginobili closed things out in the third with a driving layup.
Game Notes
The Hornets have never lost a playoff series when they win Games 1 and 2. Meanwhile, the Spurs have never won a playoff series when they lost the first two games...The Spurs had lost the first two games of a playoff series for the first time since the 2001 Western Conference finals when they were swept, 4-0, by the Lakers that year...The Hornets are 1-2 on the road in this year's playoffs...This is the first time these teams have met in the playoffs. During the regular season, the clubs split four contests as both teams earned a victory at home and on the road.
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