Western Conference Finals Game 3: Spurs Dominate Lakers, Win 103-84

Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan led the Spurs to a 103-84 win over the Lakers in a must win game to get back into the series.

Manu Ginobili, the Spurs' engine, struggled mightily in the first two games with injuries to his ankle and a finger on his shooting hand. Like the true professional he is, he never made any excuses and stated that he played bad and that he would redeem himself and play better.

True to his word, he scored 30 points, shooting 5-7 from behind the three point line. He hit five of the Spurs’ 10 three point shots.

This was the difference in the game.

The Spurs made shots tonight in San Antonio that were misses in Los Angeles.

The Spurs trio of Ginobili, Duncan and Parker combined for 72 points.

The Lakers had a 15-8 lead in the first quarter, after Kobe Bryant’s driving dunk past Duncan, until Manu Ginobili hit consecutive three point shots.

The Lakers made the adjustment of involving Tim Duncan in several pick and roll plays taking him away from the basket, leaving smaller players to have to rotate defensively and guard the basket.

The adjustment was working early and helped the Lakers to take the lead at the end of the first quarter with the score 24-21.

Tony Parker got into the painted area and that was bad news for the Lakers. Once he gets into the lane, it sets the table for his scoring and getting everyone else involved.

The Spurs played well defensively and similar to game one, caused Derek Fisher and Lamar Odom to struggle. The two combined to shot 3-15 from the field.

Kobe Bryant had 14 points in the first half. While he was resting, Coach Phil Jackson called upon his bench to provide energy, but it didn’t happen.

The Spurs took advantage of the second unit, pushing a 12 point lead to 17 and pulling away from the Lakers. The Spurs held the Lakers scoreless for the final four minutes of the second quarter and going on an 8-0 run to close the half 49-39.

The Spurs remained hot in the third quarter and the Lakers couldn’t match the

Spurs' intensity. The Spurs wouldn’t allow the Lakers to get into a rhythm offensively and increased their lead. The score at the end of the third quarter was 69-57.

The fourth quarter started with Jordan Farmar hitting a three point shot to cut the Spurs lead to 69-60. The Spurs answered that with a 12-4 run, and after Tony Parker’s lay up on one of his patented one man fast breaks, the Spurs were up by 20 points with a little over eight minutes to play.

Kobe Bryant heated up and attempted to bring the Lakers back. He hit four three pointers over the course of two and a half minutes and his last brought the score to 88-76 with five minutes to play.

Kobe Bryant finished the game with 30 points for the Lakers, but this was Manu Ginobili’s night. The competitive stage of the game was over. The Spurs maintained their lead and went on to win 103-84.

The Spurs, fighting for their playoff lives with the win, made the statement “we’re still the champions.”     

“The Spurs were energized and played with a lot more emotion, a lot more energy than we did,” said Coach Phil Jackson.

That was really evident as the Spurs appeared to be one step quicker than the Lakers. The Lakers also struggled from the free throw line shooting 8-for-17.

The Spurs trio of Ginobili, Duncan and Parker put on a tremendous effort and received scoring help from their bench tonight which outplayed the Lakers bench.

Pau Gasol scored 15 points and Jordan Farmar scored 10 points off the bench.

The Lakers took a whipping in game three and were dominated by the Spurs. The Lakers didn’t have their normal excellent ball movement and player movement. Credit the Spurs defense.

The Spurs remained undefeated at home.

“It’s a good experience for us to play against the defending champs and have them kick our butts the way they did,” Bryant said. “I think we grew up a lot tonight.”

This was the Lakers' worst defeat of the 2008 playoffs. The Lakers will have to regroup and come out on Tuesday and match the intensity of the Spurs and play better.

Game four will be on Tuesday night at 5:30pm PST.