The San Antonio Spurs advanced to the Western Conference finals after closing out the Golden State Warriors 94-82 in Game Six of their semi-final series on Thursday.
Led by Tim Duncan's 19 points, the second-seeded Spurs claimed victory on the road in Oakland to seal a 4-2 triumph in the best-of-seven series and set up a showdown against the fifth-seeded Memphis Grizzlies.
All five Spurs starters contributed to the victory by registering double figure scores to help overcome unusually subdued performances from Tony Parker and Manu Ginobli.
Parker was a dismal 3-for-16 from the floor but stepped up late in the game, scoring 10 of his 13 points in the final three and a half minutes to help the Spurs over the line, while Ginobli at least contributed 11 assists to his five-point haul.
Stephen Curry top-scored with 22 points for the Warriors but it was not enough to continue the fairytale run of a youthful Golden State side, who will expect to return bigger and stronger next season.
Golden State's bench added 36 points to the cause, led by Jarrett Jack's 15.
"We're disappointed for it to end the way it did in our home court," Curry told reporters. "We are excited about the foundation we built as a team going forward and we look forward to next year."
(Reuters quotes)
