Veteran Spurs Finish Off the Hornets

Spurs 91, Hornets 82

NEW ORLEANS, May 19 -- Chris Paul walked off the court with 25 seconds remaining Monday night and fans at New Orleans Arenas rose to their feet, applauded and began serenading the third-year all-star point guard with chants of "MVP! MVP!"

In the days leading up to his first career Game 7, Paul probably imagined himself leaving the floor in just such a fashion. No doubt his expectation was that it would come as a result of his heroics in leading the New Orleans Hornets to a stunning upset of the defending champion San Antonio Spurs in the conference semifinals -- not because he had just fouled out and the crowd was showing its appreciation for the final time this season.

The feel-good story of the regular season and these playoffs came to a conclusion on Monday night, as Paul and his Hornets lost to the Spurs, 91-82.

"I'm sure glad that's over," Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich said of the grueling series with the upstarts. "The Hornets are an unbelievably tough team in every way that one could imagine and they had a great year. I don't think there's any doubt their time will come. We feel thrilled to be able to get out of here with a victory."

Manu Gin¿bili, Tony Parker and Tim Duncan combined to score 59 points for the Spurs, and Parker delivered a series-clinching, 19-foot jumper with 50 seconds remaining as San Antonio advanced to the Western Conference finals for the fifth time in 10 years. The Spurs will face the Lakers in Game 1 on Wednesday in Los Angeles.

The Hornets had done more than just resurrect interest in basketball in this town; they also uplifted a community that is still in the process of recovering almost three years after Hurricane Katrina. Paul blossomed from good to great, finishing second in the MVP voting. David West (team-high 20 points) went from being underrated to an all-star, and Hornets Coach Byron Scott restored the coaching reputation he had established while leading New Jersey to back-to-back trips to the NBA Finals.

Paul became a bona fide star during his postseason debut, leading New Orleans to a convincing five-game, first-round victory over the Dallas Mavericks, with their superior talent trumping any shortage in playoff experience.

The Hornets had the Spurs against the ropes in this series, taking a 3-2 lead with three resounding wins in New Orleans, but could never deliver the knockout blow. After getting hammered in San Antonio in Game 6, they looked flat and frazzled for most of the game on Monday despite being back home.

"I'm very, very proud of the way they played," Scott, the regular season coach of the year, said of his team. "A lot of people didn't expect us to be where we are. [But] you don't go from not making the playoffs to winning a championship. It just doesn't work that way."

Gin¿bili led the Spurs with 26 points and Duncan added 16 points and 14 rebounds, but Popovich played down experience alone as the reason for the victory.

"Nobody will ever know," he said. "If New Orleans had won, you'd say it was because of their youth and their athleticism and their fire. And we would be too old. But since we won, then our experience did it. Who knows? We just played a good defensive game and that's what got us over."

The Spurs led 78-64 with 8 minutes 15 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, but the Hornets wouldn't go out without making one final run, which came in the form of one-man wrecking crew Jannero Pargo. The Hornets reserve guard went on a 10-2 run by himself to bring the Hornets within three points with 1:35 left in the game. Pargo (18 points) had a chance to tie the score with 73 seconds remaining, but his fall-away three-pointer from the left corner rimmed out.

The Spurs went more than seven minutes without a field goal, missing nine consecutive shots, until Parker (17 points) coolly pulled up from the left elbow extended to give his team an 85-80 lead.

Paul (18 points, 14 assists) tried to respond quickly as he pushed the ball up the floor and exploded toward the basket. But he missed badly. His shot banged off the backboard, and when Fabricio Oberto snared the rebound with 45 seconds left, the stands slowly began to empty. Paul fouled out shortly thereafter, wiping the sweat from the top of his lip and staring blankly as he headed to a seat on the bench. His expression never changed as the crowd continued to chant.

"It would've been nice if we was in the NBA Finals, sweeping Game 4," Paul said of the crowd response. "It almost brought tears to my eyes. The fans. We're really upset that we lost, but the thing that upsets us the most is, it's summer now. We have to go our separate ways. That's the part that hurts so bad."