Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Leonard likely still out, but Spurs not giving up
The Spurs’ sense of humor was still there Sunday. Gregg Popovich predicted that the Warriors stayed out way late after winning Game 3 of the Western Conference finals, celebrating with burgers and sundaes before spending Sunday playing poker. Manu Ginobili, amid plenty of questions about whether his career is ending, said the Spurs planned to lose the first three games of this series simply to make their comeback look more impressive. The laughs seemed helpful. The reality is that the Warriors are just better, especially against a seriously undermanned Spurs team.
All jokes aside, the Spurs — and everyone else watching this West final — know it’s just about over. No team has successfully rallied from 3-0 down in an NBA playoff series, and a Spurs team that is without Kawhi Leonard, Tony Parker and now David Lee is facing that most precarious deficit. Game 4 is Monday in San Antonio, with the Warriors now on the brink of clinching their third straight NBA Finals trip.
“Circumstances were such that we could be in a totally different position now,” Popovich said. “That didn’t happen. It’s called life. Slap yourself. Quit your crying and move on. Game 4.”
Leonard — who won’t play in Game 4 barring something “miraculous,” Popovich said — has been out since landing on Zaza Pachulia’s foot in a hotly debated was-it-dirty-ornot closeout by the Warriors center. Game 1 changed in that instant, the whole series changed along with it and the Warriors will become the first team in NBA history to start a postseason 12-0 if they win on Monday.
“You know what the Spurs are about. They’ve got a lot of pride. These guys are pro,” Warriors forward Kevin Durant said. “We can’t come out and feel like we’ve won already before the game has started. We’ve got to go take it.”