The Spurs played a solid all-around game last night and that’s why they beat the Nuggets.  Tony Parker led the way for the Spurs with 21 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists.  Tim Duncan had an outstanding game with 20 points, 13 rebounds, 4 assists and 5 blocked shots.  Manu Ginobili was good off of the bench with 19 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists.  Michael Finley had a solid game with 16 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists.  Robert Horry was huge off the bench, but it’s playoff time so that shouldn’t surprise anyone.  He wound up with 10 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 3 blocked shots.  The Spurs are now up 2-1 in this series.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=270428007

The Spurs turned up the defense as they held the Nuggets to 38.6% shooting from the floor last night and that’s why they won the game.  The Spurs held Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson to 46 points on 17 of 46 (37%) shooting from the floor and that was fantastic.  Tim Duncan led the way for the Spurs with 22 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 blocked shots.  Tony Parker also had a really solid game with 20 points, 2 rebounds and 6 assists.  Manu Ginobili was really active off of the bench with 17 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists.  Michael Finley (14 points, 7 rebounds) and Fabricio Oberto (8 points, 10 rebounds) both stepped up in the victory last night.  The Spurs have tied the series at 1-1 as the series shifts to Denver.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=270425024

The Nuggets took this game right to the Spurs.  The Nuggets out-rebounded the Spurs 44-35 and they outscored them 28-23 in the crucial 4th quarter of the game.  The Spurs just couldn’t handle Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson as they combined to score 61 points last night.  The Spurs also had a tough time getting the ball inside against Nene and Marcus Camby who dominated the paint.  Tony Parker led the way for the Spurs with 19 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists.  Michael Finley added 15 points and Robert Horry scored 14 points in 25 minutes off of the bench.  Tim Duncan had a decent game with 14 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 blocked shots.  Manu Ginobili was only 4 for 15 from the floor and he wound up with 9 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists.  The Nuggets lead the series 1-0.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=270422024

This will be a very interesting series between two teams that play very different styles of basketball.  Many of the individual matchups lean the Nuggets way and here they are:

POINT GUARD:  Tony Parker is the leader of the Spurs and he’s played big in a lot of huge basketball games in the post season.  He’s lightning quick with the basketball and he’s an outstanding shooter, especially from mid-range.  He averaged 18.6 points, 3.2 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game.  Steve Blake will have a hard time dealing with him on defense.  Steve Blake played well for the Nuggets after coming over in the Earl Boykins trade with Milwaukee.  His best skill is his long-range shooting as he’s not a pure point guard.  He averaged 6.4 points, 2.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game for the Nuggets this season.  EDGE:  HUGE FOR THE SPURS

SHOOTING GUARD:  Allen Iverson is an outstanding basketball player.  He tends to get a little selfish at times but he seems to have become a little better about that with the Nuggets.  He should have little problem getting his points against Michael Finley and Manu Ginobili.  Iverson averaged 26.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game.  Michael Finley is getting a little old to be running around with A.I.  He is bigger than Iverson and he’s a good long-range shooter, but he doesn’t have the speed to keep up with Iverson.  Finley averaged 9.0 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game.  EDGE:  HUGE FOR NUGGETS

SMALL FORWARD:  Carmelo Anthony is the real shining star of the Denver Nuggets.  He’s doesn’t play much defense and he’s not a great rebounder, but that won’t matter as he will likely be matched up with Bruce Bowen most of the time.  Anthony averaged 28.9 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game.  Bruce Bowen is a outstanding defensive player, but he’ll have his hands full with Carmelo Anthony.  Bowen only averaged 6.2 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game this season.  EDGE:  GIGANTIC FOR THE NUGGETS

POWER FORWARD:  Tim Duncan is one of the greatest power forwards in NBA history.  He does everything well, but, the Nuggets will have a couple of big bodies inside mixing it up with him.  Still, Duncan always takes his game to a higher level in the post season and he will again this year.  He averaged 20.0 points, 10.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game this season.  Nene Hilario had a great second half for the Nuggets and he will be banging around with Tim Duncan all series long.  He averaged 12.2 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game this season.  EDGE:  SPURS

CENTER:  Marcus Camby is one of the best defensive players in the NBA and he will have Nene’s back in dealing with Tim Duncan as the Spurs centers scare no one on offense.  Camby also is an underrated player on offense as he averaged 11.2 points, 11.7 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game this season.  Francisco Elson will start for the Spurs and his job is to play defense and rebound.  He averaged 5.0 points, 4.8 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game.  EDGE:  NUGGETS

BENCH:  The Nuggets have a pretty solid bench crew that will likely only be 4-deep.  Guard J.R. Smith is a really athletic player that is also an outstanding 3-point shooter.  He was a starter at shooting guard early in the year, but now he’s the Nuggets 6th man.  He averaged 13.0 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game.  Linas Kleiza really played well this season for the Nuggets and he can handle the shooting guard or small forward position.  He averaged 7.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game this season.  He also is a good outside shooter.  Eduardo Najera is a ball of energy off the bench that gives 110% at all times.  He averaged 6.6 points, 4.1 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game this season.

The Spurs bench is a very battle-tested group.  Manu Ginobili is one of the best 6th men in the league.  He’s very aggressive at both ends of the floor and he’s an outstanding shooter.  He averaged 16.5 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game.  Brent Barry (8.5 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists) and Matt Bonner (4.9 points, 2.8 rebounds and 0.4 assists) are both three-point assassins.  Beno Udrih is Tony Parker’s caddy and he averaged 4.7 points, 1.1 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game this season.  Fabricio Oberto is the backup center and he averaged 4.4 points, 4.7 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game last season.  Robert Horry is one of the greatest clutch shooters in NBA Playoff History!  But, he didn’t play much this season and averaged only 3.9 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game this season.  EDGE: SLIGHT FOR THE SPURS

PREDICTION:  This series will go 7 games.  I’m not so sure who will win the series, but if pressed I would pick the Spurs.  That being said, I love the matchups for the Nuggets and wouldn’t be surprised if they pulled an upset in this series.

The Spurs had G/F James White nailed to their bench until the end on the season when the Spurs were resting their regulars for the playoffs.  He played in 6 games this season and he averaged 22.8 minutes, 8.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game.