http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/3187244
Ginobili puts Spurs up in series
39 points help build 3-2 lead over SuperSonics
By FRAN BLINEBURY
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle
SAN ANTONIO - They say it takes two to tango. But not when Manu Ginobili is out on the floor.
The music of Argentina is passionate, fiery, emotional, and maybe Ginobili just carries it in his head as he careens and crashes, drives the ball and drives himself across every inch of the court.
Last summer, he virtually carried his country to the gold medal at the Summer Olympics.
On Tuesday night, he pulled the Spurs' season back from the brink with more of the fancy dance steps that he seems to invent as he goes along.
It was part John Travolta, part Fred Astaire, part Michael Jackson and all Ginobili as he poured in 39 points, dealt six assists and grabbed four rebounds to lift San Antonio to a 103-90 win over Seattle at the SBC Center that gave the Spurs a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series.
On the attack
"The most important thing was to attack," Ginobili said. "We were too passive in the two games in Seattle. We were standing around and letting them take over the game. All I wanted to do from the very start was to attack and go to the basket and get the ball to the open man, and get all of my teammates involved."
All he actually did was pick up the most critical game of the Spurs' entire season and mold it in his hands like a sculptor working a lump of clay.
Maybe point guard Tony Parker was going to be unable to find his rhythm, making only one of his first eight shots. Maybe Tim Duncan was going to struggle through ups and down, hitting just 9-of-21 from the field.
There were no maybes about Ginobili's game. He was the match that started the fire.
"That's what I always try to do," he said. "Not because Pop (coach Gregg Popovich) asked me to do it. That's how I play. I knew that today was very important from the beginning. To be contagious."
Wild things
The past two years have seen wild things happen to the Spurs in Game 5 of the second round of the playoffs. In 2003, Robert Horry — then with the Lakers — had his last-second 3-pointer go halfway down into the basket and come out — as the Spurs hung on and eventually won their second NBA le. In 2004, the Lakers were back and that time it was Derek Fisher tossing his miracle shot with 0.4 seconds on the clock that did the Spurs in and eventually pushed them toward elimination.
The Sonics were playing their second straight game without All-Star forward Rashard Lewis, who has a sprained left big toe. He is questionable for Game 6 on Thursday night in Seattle.
"Most of the swelling has gone down," said Sonics coach Nate McMillan. "But he still has a good deal of pain when he goes out and tries to move around."
San Antonio couldn't afford to let the fates get involved in the final seconds again. Ginobili wasn't going to let it come down to that.
He came flying out of the box and scored nine points in the first quarter as the Spurs took control and built an early lead.
When Seattle used its small lineup to fight back to a 50-50 tie at the half, Ginobili reached out and grabbed the game by the throat.
In the first six minutes of the second half, Ginobili either scored or assisted on 20 consecutive points scored by the Spurs.
When he wasn't tossing in 10 of 15 shots from the field — including 4-for-6 from beyond the arc — he was setting up teammates with laser passes or crashing the boards or diving for loose balls.
"We feed off him the way Seattle feeds off Ray Allen (19 points) or Minnesota feeds off Kevin Garnett," said Popovich. "It's what he does."
He disrupts, confuses, inspires.
When the Sonics cut the lead to 80-75 with 9:57 to play, Ginobili was there to rebound a miss by Duncan, got fouled and made both free throws, and the threat was over.
Keep your hands up
"It's a lot of fun playing with him," Duncan said. "Especially because you don't always know what he's gonna do. You keep your hands up. You keep your eyes focused on the ball. Manu's gonna make a play for you."
Two to tango. One to win.
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Even though Tim is STILL the Spurs main man, I think Manu will help make the Spurs more popular with those fans who prefer highlight reels and big plays.
Manu could be the Spurs bridge to making this team a team loved by ALL, like the Chicago Bulls. Now, all we need to do is win some more Championships!
Good article
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