Spurs Punch Ticket To NBA Finals With Sweep of Grizzlies
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Ronald Martinez/Getty Images(MEMPHIS) — The San Antonio Spurs are returning to a familiar place, the NBA finals.
Tony Parker scored 37 points as the Spurs finished off a sweep of the Memphis Grizzlies with a 93-86 win for their fifth Western Conference title.
Tim Duncan added 15 points and eight rebounds for the Spurs, and is now just four wins away from his fifth NBA championship. The Spurs have never lost an NBA finals series.
“We want to get back there,” Duncan said of making the finals. “We’ve had some really close years where we fell right on the verge of getting back. It feels like forever since we’ve been there.”
The Grizzlies finished their most successful season in franchise history being swept by the very same team who knocked them out of their first ever playoff appearance back in 2004.
“We learned that winning isn’t easy and winning championships is one of the hardest things you can possibly do,” Pondexter said after scoring a career-high 22 points. “I think our guys really dug deep to get as far as we did, and San Antonio’s a tremendous team. We’re going to take a couple pages out of their book.”
Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph combined to score 27 points in the loss for the Grizzlies.
The Spurs will face either the Miami Heat or the Indiana Pacers for the NBA’s ultimate prize beginning on June 6.
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