Ginobili’s 3-point dagger lifts Spurs over Warriors
SAN ANTONIO, Texas: Manu Ginobili’s three-pointer with 1.2 seconds left lifted San Antonio to a 129-127 double overtime win over Golden State as the Spurs rallied from a 16-point deficit in the fourth to win the series opener.
Ginobili’s late heroics capped a furious comeback by the Spurs and spoiled a 44-point performance from Warriors’ Stephen Curry in Monday’s game, one of their National Basketball Association second-round series.
“I was wide open so I didn’t have any options,” Ginobili said. “Good timing though.
“I have really got to watch the film and see what happened. I know they started to miss shots. They ran out of options and we kept going.”
The Spurs fell behind 104- 88 with 4: 31 left in the fourth before storming back to force overtime. They wiped out the 16-point deficit with an 18-2 run to close the fourth quarter.
In the second overtime, Ginobili found himself left wide open on the left side. He nailed the threepointer with 1.2 seconds left after taking a cross- court pass from teammate Kawhi Leonard.
Argentina’s Ginobili had missed seven consecutive shots before draining the game winner.
“I went from trading him on the spot to wanting to cook him breakfast tomorrow,” said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich.
“When I talk to him he will tell me ‘ This is what I do’. I stopped coaching a long time ago.”
Cur ry put on a shoot ing clinic during one three- minute stretch in the third. He scored 12 unanswered points for Golden State who built an 18-point lead. Curry had 22 of his 44 points in the third quarter.
“You should win but we are not the first team to lose a game like this,” Warriors coach Mark Jackson said. “It doesn’t mean we are going to accept it.
“We will get better. They made plays and we didn’t make enough. We made mistakes.”
Golden State’s Kent Bazemore converted on a driving layup under the basket to give the Warriors a one-point lead with four seconds left in the second overtime. But instead of holding up, it set the stage for Ginobili’s game winner.
“We just wanted to make stops and make adjustments and stay in the attack mode on offence and it worked out. It was anybody’s game, that is for sure,” Popovich said.