Going into the 4th quarter it was all over for the Pistons. You could see it on their faces. They wore an expression much like Japanese pilots at the end of WWII that were welded into their cockpits. Despite a Detroit rally at the start of that quarter the Pistons could not whittle down the Spurs commanding lead enough to keep their effort alive long enough to make a decisive come-back.
The celebrations in San Antonio began long before the clock ticked down to zero- in bars and cantinas, ice houses, patio's and decks all over the city Spurs fans erupted in jubilation. Fans here are two post season wins away from their third NBA Championship.
So where do we go from here? To Detroit. It remains to be seen how the Pistons will perform on their home court but indications are good that Coach Larry Brown will need to revamp his teams defense to help keep Spurs like Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker from from penetrating for easy lay ups.
The Spurs, for their part, know that there are no easy wins in this game. What fans saw tonight at the SBC center was the product of hard work, intense training and a near perfect effort on the court. The Spurs kept turnovers low and bolstered their already formidable defense with well defined and sustained attacks from Duncan and Parker on the inside, Bruce Bowen from the outside and Manu Ginobli anywhere he could get off a shot. In fact, Super G didn't miss a shot until the middle of the 4th quarter, by which time the Spurs had a firm grasp on a win, leaving the Pistons stumbling around and trying to salvage what, for them, turned into a near total blow out.
With a 2-0 lead in the Finals the Spurs are in a tricky position now. Coach Popovich, one of Larry Browns former assistants, has led his team too far to let them choke up now. At this point he's locked into a Darth Vader-esque duel with his former mentor and it's important that he keep the up the momentum and daring he's shown in previous playoff games. Larry Brown, on the ot herhand, led his Pistons to victory over the Lakers in last years Finals with consistant steady and solid basketball, which, in the end, wore down L.A.s frenetic and energetic game.
The phone is already ringing here as calls are coming in from friends and fellow fans and not a few Pistons followers who are now indebted to me as a result of the outcome of the game. Now, as the game has just ended I'm going to go and collect from the folks at the bar.
Go Spurs Go.
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