NBA

Ginobili sparks Spurs offense

As his role has increased, San Antonio has been scoring more without sacrificing defense.

SAN ANTONIO - When Manu Ginobili joined the San Antonio Spurs three seasons ago, he was a backup and offense was an afterthought. That club was all about defense and won a championship with that style.

These days, the Spurs are two wins from returning to the NBA Finals and they can still play great defense. The difference: Ginobili is now a starter and, not coincidentally, San Antonio's offense is a lot more fun to watch.

Ginobili has become a force in the final minutes of games and a highlight always waiting to happen. Consider his past four games - two to close out Seattle in the second round, and the two that gave the Spurs a 2-0 lead over Phoenix in the Western Conference finals.

Back in the starting lineup after eight games as a super sub, Ginobili scored 39 in Game 5 against the SuperSonics, then in Game 6 whipped a pass to Tim Duncan for the winning shot with 0.5 seconds left. Ginobili capped the first quarter of Game 1 in Phoenix with a 52-foot bank shot, then guided a decisive 9-2 run in the fourth quarter of Game 2.

In that rally, Ginobili assisted on two baskets and scored two, including a reverse layup that featured some behind-the-back wizardry on his way to the rim.

"He's so creative," Duncan said.

Meanwhile, the Suns have still been scoring more than 100 points a game. The surprising thing is that the Spurs have been able to top them.

Slowly but surely, coach Gregg Popovich has given Ginobili more free reign. He's comfortable putting the ball in Ginobili's hands, especially in crunch time, because he knows the 6-foot-6 forward can do so many things: hit a long jumper, drive to the basket, draw fouls or make a smart pass.

"I think it was gradual, but steady," Ginobili said of his growing role. "I started doing the little things that every team needs."

Ginobili was rewarded last summer with a $52-million, six-year contract. Since then, he has led Argentina to a gold medal at the Athens Olympics and made his first All-Star team.

Ginobili is in his 10th pro season, having spent three in Argentina and four in Italy. He was on his way to consecutive MVPs in the Italian League when Suns coach Mike D'Antoni first saw him.

D'Antoni, who had done some scouting for San Antonio, even talked to Spurs officials about Ginobili before they took him with the second-to-last pick in the 1999 draft.

"I just thought Ginobili was somebody special," said D'Antoni, who also saw Ginobili score a career-best 48 against Phoenix in the regular season. "He's tough, he's smart, he's quick. He's got it all, and at big moments he plays big."

[Last modified May 28, 2005, 00:09:12]