The Spurs survived the Hornets' sting while the Lakers put the Jazz on mute to advance to the NBA's Western Conference final, which tips off in Los Angeles on Wednesday night.
San Antonio looked dead after dropping the first two games of their series versus New Orleans, but they stormed back to finish off the Hornets in seven games. In the seventh game Manu Ginobili led the Spurs with 26 points, five rebounds and five assists in a 91-82 win as a 4.5-point road underdog on the point spread.
Tony Parker dropped in 17 points, including a key three-pointer late in the game, while Tim Duncan added 16 points and 14 rebounds.
The Lakers needed only six games to knock off the Jazz and the extra rest was likely beneficial to Kobe Bryant's ailing back. Even with the back pain, Bryant led the Lakers with 34 points in the Game 6 series clincher.
Los Angeles won that game 108-105 as a 4-point road underdog. Bryant shot 9-for-19 in the game, but he was solid at the free-throw line hitting 15-of-17 shots. Pau Gasol also delivered a strong performance in the win with 17 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks.
The Spurs and Lakers clashed four times during the regular season with each team winning twice. The home team won every game during the regular season, but the Spurs won the point spread battle with a 3-1 ATS mark in the four contests.
If home-court advantage continues to play a part in this series it would benefit the Lakers, who have four games at home after finishing the regular season ahead of the Spurs. During their playoff run so far the Lakers are 5-0 at home, while the Spurs are also perfect at home with a 6-0 record at the AT&T Center.
The early odds on the series at favor the Lakers at -300, while the Spurs - despite being the defending NBA champs - are a +220 underdog. The same goes for Game 1 where the Lakers are a 7-point favorite at .
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