Spurs finish sweep of Jazz

Ginobili steps up in ousting Jazz

ASSOCIATED PRESS 

  MAY 08, 2012

San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich shrugged when asked about Manu Ginobili’s mini-shooting slump.

“I don’t even think about it. He’s Manu,’’ he said.

True to form, the Spurs’ invaluable sixth man led the charge off the bench when San Antonio needed it most.

He hit consecutive 3-pointers after the Utah Jazz had pulled to 61-58 late in the third quarter in Game 4 of the first-round Western Conference series.

And after the Jazz rallied from 21 points down to get within 4 in the final minute, Ginobili turned a steal by Tony Parker into a layup that sealed an 87-81 victory in Salt Lake City and series sweep.

“I wasn’t making many shots, but I wasn’t taking that many either,’’ said Ginobili, who was 0 for 8 from 3-point range in the first three games but had three Monday and finished with a team-high 17 points. “I really wasn’t that worried. I was happy that the team was playing as well as we were. We were 3-0 and winning those games with authority.’’

The top-seeded Spurs advanced to the conference semifinals against the winner of the Memphis-Los Angeles Clippers series that could go until Sunday.

It was the West’s second first-round sweep as Oklahoma City eliminated defending champion Dallas in four games.

The Spurs won Game 1 by 15 points, Game 2 by 31, and Game 3 by 12, relying on Parker, their MVP candidate, and the deepest bench in the league.

Parker had 11 points on 4 of 14 shooting, Tim Duncan added 11 points on 4 of 10 shooting, and starters Kawhi Leonard, Boris Diaw, and Danny Green combined for a total of 8 points. The Spurs’ bench picked up the slack, outscoring Utah’s reserves, 57-10, and finishing with 27 more points than their own starters.

“We’ve been a deeper team this year than we usually are and it sure came in handy tonight,’’ Popovich said.

Facing elimination, the Jazz started their Big 3 lineup, with Derrick Favors at power forward, Al Jefferson at center, and Paul Millsap moving to small forward.

After a slow start, they made a difference, with Favors registering impressive blocks on Parker and Tiago Splitter and dominating the boards.

It was the first game of the series that Utah held an advantage in the paint (34-30). Their trio of bigs combined for 52 points, 39 rebounds, and 5 blocks, with a resurgent Devin Harris adding 19 points, seven assists, and one crowd-pleasing block of Parker’s fast-break layup attempt.

But the other Jazz players struggled Monday.

Gordon Hayward, who in the last 13 games of the regular season shot 50 percent overall and 49 percent from 3-point range, went 0 for 7 Monday. For the series, he shot just 18 percent (6 of 33).

Utah’s first two players off the bench, Alec Burks and Josh Howard, were a combined 0 for 10 from the field.

Neither team shot particularly well in the physical game, which saw hard fouls, plenty of no-calls, and 12 blocked shots.

In the end, the Jazz refused to quit.

Jefferson hit 5 of 6 shots in the fourth quarter for 10 of his team-high 26 points, Favors and NBA D-League call-up Blake Ahearn both had steals and Millsap dominated the boards - with eight of his playoff career-high 19 rebounds in the final quarter.

“Some people thought it was over and the Jazz ran it right at us,’’ Popovich said of the Jazz chipping away at the 21-point lead. “They don’t quit. They are a class team.’’

Clippers 101, Grizzlies 97- Blake Griffin scored 30 points and Chris Paul added 27 as host Los Angeles outscored Memphis, 14-10, in overtime to win and take a 3-1 lead in their Western Conference series.