LOS ANGELES, 7 May 2004 — Frenchman Tony Parker was unstoppable as the San Antonio Spurs took a two game lead against star-studded Los Angeles by winning 95-85 at home.
Parker scored a playoff career-high 30 points to lead the Spurs past the visiting Lakers on Wednesday night. San Antonio has a 2-0 lead in their Western Conference best-of-seven semifinal series.
“I just tried to be aggressive that’s the main thing,” said the 21-year-old Parker, who connected on 13-of-23 shots, handed out five assists and committed just one turnover in 32 minutes. “I’m in attack mode and have a lot of confidence. I just want to get some stuff for me or my teammates.”
Teammate and two-time league most valuable player Tim Duncan thinks its great to have Parker help carry the offensive load.
“Tony has been great,” said Duncan who had 24 points but uncharacteristically went scoreless in the fourth quarter.
Argentine ace Manu Ginobili added 15 points off the bench for defending champion San Antonio, which has won a franchise-tying 17 consecutive games since March 23, including six straight in the post-season.
Shaquille O’Neal made 15-of-21 shots en route to 32 points and 15 rebounds to pace the Lakers, who bowed to the Spurs in last year’s semifinal match-up. Kobe Bryant had 15 points and eight assists while Karl Malone finished with 13 points and nine rebounds.
The Lakers will look to rebound as the series shifts to Los Angeles for the next two games, beginning Sunday.
Parker set the tone early. He scored 16 points in the first quarter, helping the Spurs race to a 33-17 lead, that carried to a 61-45 halftime cushion.
The Lakers regrouped in the second half, however. Bryant’s baseline jumper pulled them to 80-78 midway through the fourth quarter. But Hedo Turkoglu drained a 3-pointer, pushing the Spurs lead to five.
After another jumper by Bryant brought the Lakers to within 85-82 with 5:34 left, Parker penetrated, leading to a pair of free throws and Rasho Nesterovic added one more from the foul line.
On the next possession, the speedy Parker used a nifty crossover dribble to get around Devean George on the left baseline before floating a soft runner over 7-1 O’Neal that opened an 88-80 bulge with 3:38 left.
Parker buried a 20-foot jumper with 1:02 left to close out the best post-season game of his young career. “The kid is doing a great job leadership-wise, he’s understanding what’s going on the court,” said Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich of Parker. “He’s going to make a mistake but he doesn’t make any more mistakes than other point guards that are 25 and 35 years old. I should just say I’m blessed to have such a young talented kid.”
