Spurs Clinch NBA's Top Seed
After going from ordinary to extraordinary, the San Antonio Spurs are the No. 1 seeded team in the NBA playoffs.
The Spurs, who have been nearly unbeatable after starting 6-8 in February, clinched homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs Wednesday night.
Tim Duncan had 12 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter as the Spurs, who went 31-5 after their slow start, defeated the Golden State Warriors 88-81.
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The Spurs captured the Western Conference title by wrapping up the regular season with five straight wins. San Antonio, which won 12 of its last 13 games, will face Minnesota in the first round of the playoffs.
San Antonio and Utah each went 37-13 this season, but the Spurs claimed the Midwest Division crown and the conference title because they won their season series against the Jazz 2-1.
David Robinson, who played his best ball of the season down the stretch, had 23 points and a season-high 20 rebounds for the Spurs.
"This is step one in what we want to accomplish. You build on it. You feel good about yourselves," Robinson said. "I still feel Utah is the team we have to get over (in the playoffs), because they're so experienced and so good."
Antawn Jamison had 22 points and 16 rebounds for the Warriors, who finished 21-29 two more victories than they had in a full schedule last season.
"I wanted my last game to be a great game," said Jamison, the Warriors' top draft pick last summer. "Unfortunately we didn't win, but individually I made a lot of noise. This is going to help me out this summer."
After trailing 44-37 at halftime, the Warriors scored the first seven points of he third period and led for most of the quarter. They took a 63-60 lead into the fourth period.
San Antonio regained the lead at 68-67 with 7:53 remaining on a layup by Avery Johnson through the middle of the Golden State defense that left Warriors coach P.J. Carlesimo cursing loudly at his players.
There were four lead changes in the next two minutes, with Jamison and Duncan doing all the scoring. Duncan gave San Antonio the lead for good at 72-71 on a 12-foot bank shot with 5:55 left.
The Spurs added the next four points, helped by a technical foul on Golden State's Donyell Marshall for slamming the ball into the basket support after being called for a foul.
The Warriors pulled within two points on a 3-pointer by John Starks with 4:36 left, but could get no closer as the Spurs went 8-of-10 from the foul line in the closing minutes.
"This is the best team in the league, obviously," Carlesimo said of the Spurs. "I think we have come a long way, but we still have a long way to go. It was typical of a lot of games we played this year against some of the better teams in the league. We just get worn down a bit."
The Spurs led 30-19 after one quarter, with Robinson (11 points) and Duncan (8) providing most of the San Antonio scoring. Duncan had 12 points as the Spurs took a 44-37 halftime lead.
San Antonio guard Mario Elie left the game with 3:09 left in the second period after getting poked in the right eye, and did not return until midway through the third period because of blurry vision.
Elie, who played on two NBA championship teams in Houston, has been in the playoffs every year in his nine-season career.
"We're rolling on this team, and the guys can feel it. This is a great way to start, with home court in the playoffs," Elie said. "I'm starting to get that feeling like I had in Houston."
Notes: The Spurs went 3-0 against the Warriors this season. ... The Warriors went 13-12 at the Oakland Coliseum this season, their first winning home record since 1995-96. ... The Warriors led the NBA in rebounding for the second straight season. ... The Spurs went 16-9 on the road this season.
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