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Spurs need epic comeback to survive Warriors in 2 OTs

May 7, 2013 - 7:22 AM San Antonio, TX (Sports Network) - The San Antonio Spurs put a plethora of defenders on the baby-faced and quick-shooting Stephen Curry in the third quarter.

Nothing worked.

The young Golden State Warriors, though, had no answer for the hard-charging and experienced Spurs during the latter stages of regulation and Manu Ginobili provided the dagger in double overtime.

Ginobili's go-ahead 3-pointer with 1.2 seconds left lifted the Spurs to a 129-127 win over the Golden State Warriors in Game 1 of this Western Conference semifinal.

"It's only the second one I made all day," Ginobili said. "Good timing, though."

The Spurs used an 18-2 run to close regulation and wipe away a 16-point deficit with four-plus minutes left.

"They made a lot of plays down the stretch. We got a little cold on the offensive end. We gave up too many easy transition baskets," Curry said of San Antonio's comeback.

The 6-foot-3, 165-pound Curry showcased his entire repertoire during a dazzling three-minute stretch near the end of the third where he went on a personal 12-0 run that vaulted the Warriors to an 18-point advantage.

Curry had 22 of his 44 points in the third frame.

"In the third quarter, possession after possession I found myself in my playmaking zones. I hit a lot of tough threes in transition. Off our pick-and- roll I got my rhythm going," Curry said of the third.

Four straight points from Curry and his assist in transition to Kent Bazemore, who played just nine minutes and didn't score in the Warriors' first-round series against the Denver Nuggets, lifted Golden State to a 127-126 advantage with 3.9 ticks left in the second overtime.

After some miscommunication defensively on the ensuing sideline out-of-bounds play, Ginobili was left wide open on the left wing. Kawhi Leonard's cross- court overhead pass hit him, and Ginobili drained the triple with 1.2 seconds to play for a 129-127 Spurs lead.

The Argentine had missed his previous seven shots from the floor.

Jarrett Jack's trey at the other end was way off the mark and the Spurs escaped with their 30th straight win over Golden State in San Antonio.

Tony Parker poured in 28 points, Danny Green had 22 and Tim Duncan, who exited with three minutes left in the fourth due to a stomach virus but returned to play a few seconds in each overtime session, finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds for the Spurs.

Curry added 11 assists and was 18-of-35 from the field for Golden State, which hasn't defeated the Spurs in the Alamo City since Feb. 14, 1997.

Klay Thompson and Harrison Barnes tallied 19 points apiece and Andrew Bogut added 10 points and 15 boards in defeat.

Curry began his personal onslaught with a deep deuce and triple before converting back-to-back layups. After some fancy dribbling with Leonard on him at the top of the arc, Curry nailed another long trey to cap his surge and give Golden State a 90-72 advantage with 37.5 seconds left in the third.

The Warriors led 92-80 after three and 104-88 with 4:31 left in regulation after Jack sunk two free throws before the Spurs began their furious comeback.

Parker, who netted eight points during the 18-2 surge, put in the first six before Leonard stole a Jack pass and raced the other way for a layup. Leonard then hit a trey, and a Parker layup trimmed the gap to 104-101 with 1:18 to go in the stanza.

Carl Landry was whistled for a loose ball foul on a rebound and Boris Diaw made two free throws to whittle the deficit to a point. Jack's step-back jumper at the other end increased the Warriors' cushion to three, but Green was left open along the right wing with 20.8 ticks in the frame and swished the shot to knot the tilt at 106-106.

Curry missed a turnaround jumper with 1.8 seconds on the click to force an extra session.

The Warriors scored the first five points of the first overtime before San Antonio responded with the next seven as a Diaw steal led to a Green layup for a 113-111 Spurs spread with 2:02 to go in the first overtime.

After Curry missed a jumper, he stole a Ginobili pass and got his tough lefty layup to go in transition to tie the score at 113-113.

Leonard put in a short fadeaway in the paint with 1:02 remaining before Jack drove the lane and got his layup to drop with 20.3 seconds on the clock and knot things up at 115-115. Ginobili then missed a jumper at the buzzer.

Earlier, Golden State jumped out to a 28-25 edge after a quarter of play by outscoring its counterparts 12-2 in the paint. Golden State shot 55 percent (22-of-40) in the first half and headed into the locker room with a 53-49 spread.

Game Notes

The Spurs scored 21 points off 21 Golden State turnovers ... Spurs forward Tiago Splitter missed his second straight game due to an ankle injury ... Golden State shot 51 percent (51-of-100) from the floor.