Ginobili sparks Spurs

SAN ANTONIO – Already a hero back home in Argentina, Manu Ginobili made himself pretty popular in this Texas town.

Ginobili started the game’s decisive surge by bowling over Ben Wallace early in the fourth quarter, a play that started the San Antonio Spurs on their way to an 84-69 victory in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday night.

Ginobili’s free throw on the technical began a 19-4 run that put San Antonio ahead by 17, and Ginobili added a dunk and a 3-pointer to stave off Detroit’s subsequent rally in one of the lowest scoring finals games.

It was an awesome second half for Ginobili, especially in the fourth quarter when his drives into the lane produced several impressive baskets. Ginobili shot 9 for 10 in the second half and led all scorers with 26 points, 15 in the fourth quarter.

“I struggled in the first half so I was very upset. I tried to come back with more energy and more aggressiveness,” said Ginobili, who won a gold medal last summer at the Athens Olympics.

Tim Duncan added 24 points and 17 rebounds and Tony Parker scored 15 points for the Spurs, who recovered from an early 13-point deficit to win the opener of the series – only the third time in NBA history the past two champions have squared off in the finals.

The point total tied for the fourth-lowest in the finals in the shot clock era, eight off the record set on April 7, 1955, when Fort Wayne beat Syracuse 74-71. The Pistons’ 69 points were the third-lowest in the finals, 15 off Utah’s total in a 32-point loss to Chicago on June 7, 1998.

Game 2 is Sunday night, and in all likelihood it’ll be another defensive-minded, grind-it-out game. At least that’s what this one was until Ginobili started doing his thing.

The third-year guard from Argentina shot 6 for 6 in the fourth quarter to help the Spurs outscore the Pistons 29-16 over the final 12 minutes.

“Manu had one hell of a night, and we did play good ‘D’ in the second half. We boarded well, so we put ourselves in position where we could win a basketball game, but offensively, it was Manu Ginobili. He was something else,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.

San Antonio began to pull away after Wallace was called for the technical foul for ripping off his headband and complaining after he was called for the blocking foul when he thought it should have been a charge on Ginobili.

“It was a tough call,” teammate Tony Parker said. “He got mad after that, and he didn’t stop penetrating, he kept attacking.”

Ginobili’s free throw started a 5-0 run that ended with him driving the lane and again flattening Wallace – this time with nothing called – to make it 60-53.

Two more drives into the lane ending in baskets followed during a 7-0 run, Ginobili drawing a foul against Richard Hamilton on the second one and completing the three-point play for a 67-55 lead with 7:38 remaining.

It was 74-57 before Detroit had a 10-0 run to quiet the Spurs’ home crowd, but Ginobili brought them back to life by driving the lane for a left-handed dunk and then knocking down a 3-pointer with 2 minutes left.

“He’s a slasher, a shooter, an energy guy – and he did all of those,” said Detroit’s Chauncey Billups, who scored 25 points.

Duncan had a turnover, a missed dunk and a bobbled shot attempt before he made his first basket.

A blocked shot by Billups led to a breakaway layup by Hamilton for a 17-4 lead. The Spurs pulled to 20-17 by the end of the first quarter and tied the game at 33 3 1/2 minutes before halftime.

“We knew it was going to be like this; these guys are a heck of a defensive squad,” Duncan said. “That’s what you saw in that first half. I think we all started out with a little bit of jitters … I missed a dunk and stuff like that. Just had to have the game start coming to me. Once we started going there, everybody got comfortable, and I think we got through it.”

San Antonio finally went ahead when Duncan rebounded Bruce Bowen’s airball and dropped it in for a 42-41 lead. The Spurs stayed ahead for the rest of the third quarter and took a 55-51 lead into the fourth.

Around the league

New Cavaliers coach Mike Brown added his first assistant, bringing Hank Egan, his former college coach, onto his staff in Cleveland. … Calbert Cheaney exercised his player option to return to Golden State next season. The option is worth approximately $1.6 million, Cheaney’s salary this season. … Illinois guard Dee Brown broke his right foot at an NBA camp and might withdraw from the June 28 draft. He is expected to be sidelined six to eight weeks. Illini teammate Roger Powell also was injured at the pre-draft camp Wednesday at Moody Bible Institute, spraining his right ankle and leaving on crutches.

Spurs 84, Pistons 69

Detroit (69) – Prince 4-12 3-4 11, R.Wallace 3-6 0-0 6, B.Wallace 2-5 1-2 5, Billups 9-16 6-6 25, Hamilton 7-21 0-1 14, McDyess 1-8 0-1 2, Hunter 1-5 0-0 2, Arroyo 1-3 0-0 2, Ham 1-1 0-0 2, Dupree 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-77 10-14 69.

San Antonio (84) – Bowen 0-6 0-0 0, Duncan 10-22 4-5 24, Mohammed 4-8 2-2 10, Parker 7-17 1-2 15, Ginobili 10-16 4-4 26, Horry 2-6 1-2 7, Barry 0-1 0-0 0, Robinson 1-2 0-0 2, Udrih 0-0 0-0 0, D.Brown 0-1 0-0 0, Nesterovic 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 34-79 12-15 84.

3-Point Goals—Detroit 1-6 (Billups 1-4, Hamilton 0-1, Hunter 0-1), San Antonio 4-13 (Ginobili 2-4, Horry 2-4, Parker 0-1, Barry 0-1, Bowen 0-3). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Detroit 42 (R.Wallace 8), San Antonio 58 (Duncan 17). Assists—Detroit 15 (Billups 6), San Antonio 12 (Parker, Horry 3). Total Fouls—Detroit 19, San Antonio 17. Technicals—B.Wallace. A—18,797. (18,500).