Spurs host Hornets in Game 3 of best-of-seven series
Posted: Thu May 8 10:41 AM
(Sports Network) - The defending world champion San Antonio Spurs have their backs against the wall, as they host the New Orleans Hornets tonight at the AT&T Center in Game 3 of their Western Conference semifinal series.
New Orleans leads this best-of-seven set 2-0. Game 4 is scheduled for Sunday in San Antonio.
On Monday, Chris Paul scored 30 points and dished out 12 assists as the second-seeded Hornets used a dominating second half for a second straight game to rout No. 3 San Antonio, 102-84,at New Orleans Arena.
Peja Stojakovic was 5-of-7 from three-point range, on the way to scoring 25, including 12 in the pivotal third quarter, for the Hornets, who have won eight straight games as the host in the playoffs, dating back to the 2004 postseason. David West tallied 10 points and 10 rebounds in the win.
The Hornets have never lost a playoff series when they win Games 1 and 2.
Tim Duncan had 18 points and eight rebounds in the loss. He was limited to a career playoff-low five points on 1-of-9 shooting in the opener. Brent Barry had 14 points, while Manu Ginobili netted 13 and Tony Parker scored 11 in defeat.
The Spurs have lost the first two games of a playoff series for the first time since the 2001 Western Conference finals. They were swept, 4-0, by the Lakers that year.
In Game 1, West scored a playoff career-best 30 points, and the Hornets put the defensive clamps on Duncan and beat the Spurs, 101-82, at home.
The Spurs have never won a playoff series when they lose the first two games of the set. San Antonio is 3-0 at home in this year's playoffs and has won two straight Game 3s in the postseason.
The Hornets are 1-1 on the road in this year's playoffs. They have captured six of their last seven Game 3s in the postseason.
The Southwest Division-champion and second-seeded Hornets are back in the postseason for the first time since the 2003-04 campaign. New Orleans moved to the Western Conference for the 2004-05 campaign, and are competing in the West playoffs for the first time in franchise history.
New Orleans won its first best-of-seven playoff series (1-6) in franchise history, as it defeated the seventh-seeded Dallas Mavericks in five games, 4-1, in the first round of the postseason.
The Hornets are 0-4 in the second round of the playoffs. They lost to New York (4-1) in 1993, Chicago (4-1) in 1998, Milwaukee (4-3) in 2001 and New Jersey (4-1) in 2002.
The Spurs, who swept the Cleveland Cavaliers in last year's NBA Finals, have captured four world championships (1999, 2003, 2005, 2007) in the last nine years.
History is not on San Antonio's side. Following a championship, the Spurs have never made it past the Western Conference semifinals in the playoffs. In 2000 they fell in the opening round to Phoenix, and lost in the semis to the Lakers in 2004 and Dallas in 2006.
San Antonio, which is playing in the postseason for the 11th straight year, advanced to the West semis for the eighth straight year. The Spurs knocked out Steve Nash and the sixth-seeded Phoenix Suns in five games in round one.
The Spurs have won four of their last seven trips to the West semis. They defeated the Suns, 4-2, last year in this round.
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.
