NBA

Ginobili's big 4th quarter lifts Spurs over Cavs

Star scores 18 of 46 points in last period in battle between 2007 finalists

Aaron Josefczyk / Reuters

Manu Ginobili of the Spurs pumps his fist during the fourth quarter of a 112-105 victory over the Cavaliers on Wednesday. Ginobili, who made a career-high eight 3-pointers, scored a season-high 46 points and scored 18 points in the fourth quarter.

The Cavaliers had won four straight regular-season games against the Spurs, who overpowered them in last year’s finals.

While getting swept in his first trip to the finals by the Spurs was tough, it didn’t crush James.

“It definitely hurt to lose and not being able to compete the way we had,” he said before the game. “But we got beat by a better team. They were head and shoulders better than us, so it wasn’t a hard pill for me to swallow. If it was a team we knew we should have beat, it would have been hard.”

With Hughes making his first five shots, the Cavaliers controlled the Spurs for much of the first half. They opened a 12-point lead and were still ahead 47-40 when James ran down Duncan from behind and appeared to block the center’s layup cleanly.

But James was called for a foul, and he compounded things when he was whistled for his first technical this season. Duncan made three free throws, hit a jumper and Ginobili made a free throw as San Antonio closed the first half with an 8-0 spurt to pull within 47-46 at the break.

Ginobili scored 18 points in a first half that merely served as a warmup for his second-half shootaround.

“Manu is Manu,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “He’s one of the most unbelievable competitors I’ve been around. That’s why he has NBA championships and Olympic championships and European championships. He’s a pretty special guy.”

Notes: Popovich wasn’t sure how much James had improved since the end of last season. “I always thought he was ridiculously amazing,” he said. ... Although he’s among the leading candidates to win MVP honors, James feels he’s a longshot. After all, Kobe Bryant’s waiting for his first award. “I know I got no chance if Kobe Bryant has never won it,” he said. ... Cavs G Daniel Gibson missed his fourth straight game a strained hamstring. Gibson, though, expects to take part in All-Star festivities. He’s in the rookie challenge and 3-point shootout. ... Jason Kidd’s apparent trade back to Dallas thrilled Brown. “I don’t mind those triple-doubles going over the West side.”

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