Skip navigation
Site powered by
Latest news:
msnbc.com: Top msnbc.com headlines: Violence widens ahead of Greek austerity vote

Spurs school Cavs to take 2-0 Finals lead

Parker, Ginobili, Duncan combine for 78 points; Cavs' comeback falters

Image: Tim Duncan, Zydrunas IlgauskasAP
Spurs forward Tim Duncan shoots over Cavaliers center Zydrunas Ilgauskas in the second quarter.

In the 2005 finals, the Spurs won the first two games against Detroit but had to go seven to win the title.

“I remember,” Ginobili said. “It was really embarrassing. Hopefully the guys that were in that finals learned from that.”

The Cavaliers, who were down 0-2 against Detroit in the conference finals, can also look to last year’s finals for comfort. Miami lost Games 1 and 2 in Dallas before going home to Florida and winning three straight and then beating the Mavericks on their home floor for their first championship.

“We’re definitely still confident,” James said. “We’ve been down 2-0 before and we have to find a way to get back the intensity we had in the fourth quarter and carry it into Game 3.”

Gibson added 15 points, Drew Gooden had 13 and Sasha Pavlovic 10 for the Cavs, who went just 19-of-29 from the line and got zero points in 20 minutes from point guard Larry Hughes, who is playing with a foot injury.

After building a 12-point lead in the first quarter while James was out, the Spurs pushed it to 17 on a 3-pointer from Ginobili. Parker scored on a three-point play and whizzed through the lane for a layup to make it 46-26.

Then, with 30 seconds left before the half, Parker drilled a 17-foot jumper to make it 58-30. By then, most of America had probably already switched over to “The Sopranos” series finale to see if Tony got whacked.

He didn’t. The Cavaliers did.

Slideshow
Image: Snee, 8, son of New York Giants player Chris Snee and head coach Coughlin's grandson plays in the confetti after the New York Giants defeated the New England Patriots in the NFL Super Bowl XLVI football game in Indianapolis
  The Week in Sports Pictures
The Giants on top of the football world, getting ready for the London Olympics and more.

more photos

As fans dressed in silver and black poured into the arena on a sultry night in south Texas, a mariachi band played to chants of “Go, Spurs, Go,” a cry that can be heard in the streets of the Alamo City even when there’s no game scheduled.

Several fans posed to get their pictures taken in front of a display case containing the club’s NBA title trophies from 1999, 2003 and 2005. There’s plenty of room for a fourth, and the Spurs appear poised to get it.

Notes: Duncan, who had eight assists and nine rebounds, is second in career blocks in finals history with 63 behind only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who had 116. ... The Spurs are just the fourth franchise to play in four finals in a nine-year span since the ABA/NBA merger in 1976-77. ... Gibson led the Cavs with 16 points in the series opener, becoming the first rookie to lead his team in scoring in a Game 1 since Phoenix’s Alvan Adams in 1976. ... Cowboys wide receiver Terrell Owens, a close friend of Cavs G Damon Jones, sat courtside. ... More than 14,000 fans watched the game at the Q in Cleveland, where the game was shown in High-Definition 3-D.

© 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


< Prev | 1 | 2

advertisement
More news
Image: Kobe Bryant
AP
Kobe's shot lifts Lakers

Kobe Bryant hit a baseline jump shot with 4.2 seconds left and the Los Angeles Lakers wrapped up a six-game road trip by holding on to beat the Raptors 94-92 on Sunday, their eighth victory in nine meetings with Toronto

Slide show
San Antonio Spurs owner Peter Holt holds up the Larry O'Brien Trophy after defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals in Cleveland
NBA Finals
Take a visual tour of Spurs' sweep of Cavaliers

more photos

  ProBasketballTalk tweets

  1. Loading the latest posts…

Source: Twitter. For more, follow @basketballtalk.

Video: NBA from NBC Sports
Lin on on 'Linsanity'
Knicks guard Jeremy Lin discusses the hype surrounding his recent rise in New York.

Slideshow
Washington Wizards v Charlotte Bobcats
  Get your cheer on
Check out some of the dancers from the NBA.

more photos

  Ask the NBA expert: Ira Winderman

Do you have a burning NBA question? Submit it now, and then check back for our reader mailbag.

Special feature
Image: LeBron James
Who will be MVP?
Interactive: Rank each player on a scale of 0 to 10 (10 = best player, 0 = barely worthy of consideration).

NBCSports.com

Slideshow
Image: Blake Griffin
  NBA All-Star starters
A look at the starting lineups for the East and West teams.

more photos