Thunder vs. Spurs Game 5: San Antonio's Manu Ginobili Will Rise to the Occasion

Oh, where have you gone Manu Ginobili?

That's the question San Antonio Spurs fans will be asking before Game 5 of the 2012 Western Conference Finals tips off inside the AT&T Center in San Antonio on Monday night.

Ginobili was virtually non-existent as the Spurs dropped both road games to the Oklahoma City Thunder inside Chesapeake Energy Arena, scoring just 21 combined points on 5-of-12 shooting from the floor.

A team that was a virtual lock to reach the 2012 NBA Finals after winning its first 10 postseason games, it now finds itself in a battle with this best-of-seven series tied at two games apiece.

I'm expecting a major bounce-back performance from the home team's sixth man, considering he scored 20-plus points in the first two games of the series on this floor. This included a team-high 26 in just over 34 minutes of action in Game 1.

Don't be surprised if the entire postgame conversation on TNT between Charles Barkley, Shaquille O'Neal and Kenny Smith is centered around the 34-year-old from Argentina, as he's done some incredible things in this situation before.

Since the 2004-2005 season, Ginobili has played in seven playoff games at home after the Spurs have suffered back-to-back losses on the road. He averaged 29.3 points per game in those contests.

The last occurrence came in Game 5 of last year's first-round series against the Memphis Grizzlies, as he finished with a game-high 33 points.

I have no opinion on the game itself, with the Spurs being five-point home favorites, according to SBR Forum, but I do recommend playing the "over" on any proposition wager that deals with Ginobili's point total.

Fire away.

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