The San Antonio Spurs reclaimed the home-court advantage with a Game 3 victory and will try to take command of the series Sunday afternoon when they meet the Golden State Warriors at Oracle Arena.
After getting torched by the Warriors backcourt in Games 1 and 2, it was Tony Parker who stepped up for San Antonio in Friday's 102-92 victory. He scored 32 points on 13-for-23 shooting and said after the game he wasn't motivated by the impressive play of his counterparts.
"I played for the Spurs a long time. I don't care about that," said Parker. "I play for my teammates and Coach Pop and the City of San Antonio. That kind of stuff doesn't motivate me, no."
Golden State's Steph Curry has emerged as a bona fide superstar, especially after 44 points in Game 1. Klay Thompson went off for 34 points in Game 2, including 29 in the first half.
But, on Friday, the two were held in check. Thompson scored 17 points, while Curry only managed 16. The two combined to shoot 12-for-37 and the Warriors as a team shot 39 percent.
"We made shots and they didn't have as good a night shooting the ball. Sometimes it's as simple as that." said Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich. "There's other factors, you think about, turnovers, blah, blah, blah. But we shot it and they didn't."
Tim Duncan had 23 points and 10 rebounds on Friday. Kawhi Leonard added 15 points and nine rebounds and Manu Ginobili chipped in 12 points off the bench.
The Warriors not only lost at home for the first time in the postseason, but may have suffered a bigger loss. Curry sprained his left ankle late in the game and might not be at full strength, if even in the lineup on Sunday.
"He'll get treatment. We'll see how that responds. Hopefully he's ready to play," said Warriors coach Mark Jackson. "Hopefully Steph is ready. If not, we got guys more than capable of going out and getting us a win."
On the injury front, David Lee once again made a cameo in the postseason. He tore his right hip flexor in Game 1 of the first round against the Denver Nuggets and was expected to miss the playoffs. He made a brief appearance against the Nuggets in Game 6 of that series, and, on Friday, Lee played a little over three minutes in the first half.
"I thought he played outstanding, gave us an incredible boost," Jackson said of Lee. "But I didn't like the way he was running on the last trip. The game got tight. Didn't want to put him in that situation."
Lee scored five points in his three minutes. Carl Landry had 14 points, followed by Harrison Barnes, who had 12 points. Golden State also got 11 points apiece from Andrew Bogut and Jarrett Jack.
Now, the Warriors have their backs against the wall. They need to win Game 4 or it's back to San Antonio for Game 5 on Tuesday. The Warriors won Game 2 in the Alamo City, but that was their first victory in San Antonio since Feb. 14, 1997.
"We have proven that we're capable of going into their building and beating them," said Jackson. "If we don't play our brand of basketball, we are not good enough to just win."
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