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Hornets, Spurs meet in pivotal Game Seven

May 19, 2008 - 1:24 PM San Antonio at New Orleans 8:30 pm EDT Western Conference semifinals Series tied, 3-3

NEW ORLEANS (Ticker) - The New Orleans Hornets and San Antonio Spurs are faced with the same situation - win or go home.

The Hornets will try to remain undefeated at home as they host the Spurs in a decisive Game Seven in the Western Conference semifinals on Monday.

The defending champion Spurs were able to extend the series with a 99-80 victory over the Hornets in Game Six at the AT&T Center on Thursday. Manu Ginobili's 25 points led the way.

"We're happy to force a seventh game," Spurs forward Tim Duncan said. "And we'll do our best to make a game of it, and hopefully do a little better than we did in the past."

This series has been holding up like most of the other conference semifinals, with the home team posting an impressive 21-2 record.

"If I could figure out what was going on with this home court stuff, I'd bottle it and sell it to the other 29 teams in the league," New Orleans coach Byron Scott said.

"We'll see if we thrive on pressure after Monday's game," Spurs guard Manu Ginobili said. "We still don't know. It's a great test for both teams. A lot of pressure, as I said before, and we're going to try to be the ones that respond to that pressure the best way."

The Spurs haven't fared well in the third quarter on the road as they have been outscored 93-46 in that frame through three games at the New Orleans Arena.

Another concern for San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich is the road play of Duncan, who is averaging just 11.0 points away from home in the series.

All-Star David West remains the biggest question mark for the Hornets. West caught a forearm in his back on a pick by Spurs forward Robert Horry and was escorted to the locker room, but he is expected to play in Game Seven.

"I took a hard shot to the back," West said. "The nice thing is we have a couple of days to work all the pain and get me ready for Game Seven. We have one game, one opportunity to move on."

The second-seeded Hornets are seeking their first trip to the conference finals. The franchise was never able to advance in the East when it was located in Charlotte.

The Spurs have captured four NBA titles over the last nine years, but have yet to register back-to-back championships during their impressive stretch. They've also never rallied from a 2-0 hole.

Monday's series finale could came down to the battle between San Antonio's Tony Parker and Chris Paul, who has recorded all three of his double-doubles here.