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Collapses haunt Spurs in drive to this year's title

Tony Parker, left, of the San Antonio Spurs moves the ball around Drew Gooden of the Cleveland Cavaliers during Game 2 of the NBA finals on Sunday at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. Parker scored 30 points and the Spurs stormed out to a huge lead, squandered most of it, then hung on to beat Cleveland 103-92 to lead the championship series 2-0. PHOTO: AFP

Memories of past collapses haunt the San Antonio Spurs despite their home-court thrashing of Cleveland and a 2-0 lead in the NBA finals.

San Antonio also won twice at home to start the best-of-seven championship series in 2005, only to be blasted twice when that series shifted to Detroit.

The Spurs took the title in seven games but the lessons linger for stars Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.

"I remember what happened. It was really embarrassing," Argentine guard Ginobili said. "Hopefully the guys learn from that and are more humble going into these games and play better."

French playmaker Parker has produced MVP-like efforts against Cleveland with 27 points in Game 1 and 30 in Game 2 on combined 25-of-43 shooting, but he carries the mental scars from 2005 as well.

"Two years ago we won by 20 against Detroit in Game 2 and in Game 3 we got smashed and in Game 4 we lost by 30. We need to remember that and learn from our mistakes," Parker said. "That's enough to make us get ready."

"Cleveland played well against Detroit and came back so we have to be aware of that. We have to give them respect."

Tony Parker, San Antonio Spurs guard

The Cavaliers reached their first NBA finals by rallying after losing the first two games to defeat Detroit in this year's Eastern Conference finals.

"Cleveland played well against Detroit and came back so we have to be aware of that. We have to give them respect," Parker said. "They've never been in a finals so it's going to be very loud there. It's going to be tough.

"They are going to play a little harder at home," he said. "They are going to shoot better and with more confidence. We have to be ready for that."

While the Cavaliers are 7-1 at home in the playoffs, no team in NBA history has erased an two-game deficit twice in the same year. Nor has any team come back to win an NBA playoff series after falling behind three games.

"There's nothing magical that's going to help us. There's no magic play, magic defense," Cavaliers coach Mike Brown said. "This is a good team and we've got to bring the `juice' and right now we're not.

"We've just got to dig within," he said. "Our effort has to be better. Our aggression has to be higher and we've got to do it and still be poised."

The Spurs, seeking their fourth crown in nine years, lost their poise in the fourth quarter of a 103-92 triumph in game two on Sunday, allowing Cleveland to trim a 29-point third-quarter deficit to eight before escaping with a victory.

"Guys are going to want to get back on the court to make up for the effort we gave in the fourth quarter," Spurs guard Bruce Bowen said.

The Cavaliers, trying to win the first major sporting title by any Cleveland team since 1964, are expecting intense home support.

"It's going to be electrifying," said LeBron James, the Cleveland star who has been contained so far by the Spurs. "It's definitely going to be a great experience, something that hasn't been experienced in a long time in our city.

"We can play better," he said. "We can play harder. We have to figure out a way to pick up our intensity."

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich will plot to prevent the Cavaliers from gaining any momentum in the series.

"It will be a huge challenge. They have played well at home and they will feel a lot looser, a lot more aggressive in a lot of ways," he said. "The place will be rocking without a doubt."

Spurs star Tim Duncan, a three-time finals MVP, has scored and rebounded well and helped contain Cleveland's Zydrunas Ilgauskas.

The Lithuanian center said he could see the Cavaliers being outworked by the Spurs.

"All the stuff we did so well during that season that got us to this point [has] really gotten away from us," Ilgauskas said. "It always seems they have us on our heels, getting loose balls, executing better. They're just quicker."

"They are rebounding better than us, getting all the hustle points and playing better defense and on top of everything, they are executing a lot better on offense," he said.
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