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After Bryant’s driving dunk past Duncan with 4:57 left in the first quarter put the Lakers up 15-8, Ginobili hit back-to-back 3s from the same spot on the wing to get the Spurs within a point.
“He bounced back the way I thought he would,” Bryant said. “He is a phenomenal player and he had a spectacular first half.”
He didn’t stop in the second quarter.
His second of back-to-back 3s 4½ minutes in put the Spurs up 33-30, giving his team the lead for good. Then he got to the rim about 30 seconds later and was fouled. His free throw made it 36-32.
The Lakers struggled in the second quarter — turning the ball over early in the period on a shot-clock violation, missing free throws and shooting 7-of-17 from the field — and the Spurs pulled away.
Ginobili hit his fifth 3 of the night as the shot clock expired with less than a minute left in the first half. The Spurs outscored the Lakers 28-15 in the second quarter for a 49-39 lead at the break.
Odom was 1-of-7 from the field in the first half and guard Derek Fisher was scoreless.
Odom didn’t fare any better in the third, and Gasol and Bryant combined for just 10 points as Spurs’ defender Bruce Bowen continued to hound this year’s league MVP.
Ginobili cooled in the third quarter — when the Spurs went up by as many as 13 — just as Duncan got hot. Duncan’s two jump shots with less than two minutes to play, plus Ginobili’s drive that showed he can still get to the rim, gave the Spurs a 12-point lead heading into the fourth.
“I don’t feel like my last step is as strong as probably a couple months ago, but it’s not a big issue,” Ginobili said. “I mean, I think I can still finish.”
Notes: The Spurs last lost at home on April 9 to Phoenix. San Antonio eliminated the Suns in the first round in five games. ... Fisher got a technical foul with 4:45 left in the third quarter just after teammate Vladimir Radmanovic hit a layup to bring the Lakers within eight. ... In a dig at Bryant, the crowd chanted “M-V-P” when Duncan went to the line late in the fourth quarter. ... Ginobili got a standing ovation from the crowd when he went to the bench with 2:56 to play. ... Fisher finished with two points on 1-of-4 shooting. ... The Spurs hit 10 3s, the Lakers hit six.
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