SAN ANTONIO SPURS

Spurs have momentum as series shifts back to New Orleans

AUSTIN, Texas — You call them old and worn out. They prefer mature and experienced.

Sometimes you appear to be correct — just not right now.

The Spurs, oldest team in the NBA, are back in play, tied with New Orleans at two games apiece in the Western Conference semifinals.

Pundits who wanted to shovel dirt on the remains of the defending champs had reason to mobilize when the Spurs lost two games in New Orleans by an average of 18.5 points.

Then the Spurs came home and won twice, by an average of 15.5.

Two of the last three games in the series are scheduled for New Orleans, tonight and Monday. Game 6 is in San Antonio on Thursday.

While New Orleans holds home-court advantage, the Spurs wrested momentum with a 100-80 victory on Sunday. They led by 27 in the fourth quarter.

Hornets coach Byron Scott identified lack of effort as a factor in his team's failure the last two games.

"Our intensity was terrible," Scott said. "I think from Game 1 to Game 4 it has gotten worse. The Spurs' (intensity) has gotten better. That's the difference."

Some of that transformation, at least for the Spurs, can be attributed to Tim Duncan's recovery from a virus that diminished his energy in the first two games, maybe three. He had his best game on Sunday: 22 points, 15 rebounds, 4 blocks and smart passes.

Some of the Spurs' success might be the result of strategy by coach Gregg Popovich. He moved Manu Ginobili into the starting lineup for offense and shifted defensive wizard Bruce Bowen's assignment from Chris Paul to Peja Stojakovic.

Experience is a factor as well. Paul, the Hornets' best player, is in the playoffs for the first time this season. The other four starters had previous playoff experience, but only Stojakovic had a lot of it.

"We went back to our bad habits earlier in the season," Scott said. "We missed easy shots in the first six or seven minutes of the game and let that dictate how we played defense the rest of the game. We went back to our inexperience."

The Spurs have won three of the last five NBA titles with a lineup that has remained largely unchanged. Duncan, Ginobili, Bowen and Tony Parker have been around the whole time.

"For us, there is no situation in a game that we haven't faced," guard Michael Finley, a third-year Spur, said in the locker room after Game 4. "So when coach comes into the huddle we can say we've been here before. We know what we need to do."

The Spurs understand the nature of the playoffs, that each game, not just every series, is a marathon. They don't panic; they adjust.

Paul burned the Spurs with his passing and shooting in the first two games. He still scores, but Paul's assists have dropped from an average of 12.5 in the first two games to 7.5 in the last two.

That is partly because the Spurs have improved their defense against Stojakovic and David West. The two forwards also have missed shots that they usually convert.

At the other end, the Spurs moved the ball intelligently the last two games, an asset for which they are underrated. They were particularly adept on Sunday.

If Duncan could not elude the two defenders assigned to him, he found open teammates. As the Hornets scrambled, the Spurs whipped the ball around the perimeter until somebody had an open shot.

Parker, meanwhile, has driven with abandon, taking advantage of the freedom Popovich has given him the last two games to produce 52 points and 19 assists.

"Tony needs to be aggressive," Popovich said. "We're not the same team if he is not."

Mark Rosner writes for the Austin American-Statesman.