NBA Playoffs: San Antonio Spurs Win Game 5

Apr 30, 2014; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker (9) defends Dallas Mavericks guard Vince Carter (25) in game five of the first round of the 2014 NBA Playoffs at AT&T Center. San Antonio beat Dallas 109-103. Mandatory Credit: Brendan Maloney-USA TODAY Sports

Last night, the San Antonio Spurs beat the Dallas Mavericks in Game 5 of the 2014 NBA Playoffs.

Let’s look at how the Spurs did:

Tony Parker has been struggling with an ankle injury, but the birth of his son seemed to inspire his play last night. From Michael De Leon of Project Spurs:

“It was a pretty special night for him. I think his first child is a little bit more important than the game but he managed to do them both,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “He had a hell of a night and he was magnificent for us.”

“It was crazy. I didn’t sleep the whole night. I’ve basically been running on adrenaline,” Parker said.

Parker scored 23 points on a less-than-average 9-for-23 from the floor. He connected on the only three pointer he shot and went four-for-four from the free-throw line. He also tallied five assists in just under 38 minutes of play.

Tiago Splitter, Tim Duncan and Kawhi Leonard scored 17, 16 and 15 points, respectively; this shows us very consistent offensive play from the Spurs forwards and big men. Boris Diaw didn’t play as well as these other three, though, as he only scored eight points on two-of-four shooting.

But it was Splitter who performed the best of the four big men, particularly during the fourth quarter. Again, from Project Spurs:

“He was really active. I thought we moved the ball better than we had in the past,” Popovich said. “Tiago is a big part of that. He reads the lanes and understands the timing of things pretty well. His blue collar type stuff was really great tonight.”

Splitter matched Parker’s nine fourth-quarter points as he put on a pick & roll clinic. When he wasn’t finishing at the rim, and actually dunking, Splitter found teammates slashing inside for easy baskets.

Tiago Splitter posted his 3rd consecutive postseason double-double with a playoff career-high 17 points, 12 rebounds and 5 assists.

— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) May 1, 2014

Manu Ginobili was another spark off the bench, tallying 19 points. He knocked down three threes, four free throws and garnered five assists on the night.

Rami Michail of The Smoking Cuban explains how the Mavericks must win Game 6, or else they’re out of the playoffs. Dirk Nowitzki and Monta Ellis need to have a scoring outburst for the Mavs in Game 6, and being back in Dallas, Mavs fans are hoping they will be able to extend the series to a Game 7.

Will San Antonio Win Game 6?

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