Spurs clinch series with rare road win over Hornets

NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - The San Antonio Spurs booked their place in the Western Conference final with a 91-82 Game Seven win over the Hornets in New Orleans on Monday.

The defending NBA champions will play the Los Angeles Lakers in the conference final, with Game One in LA on Wednesday.

The Spurs held a commanding 71-56 lead going into the fourth quarter but the Hornets cut that deficit to 83-80 on Jannero Pargo's three-pointer with 90 seconds remaining.

San Antonio pulled away again and held on to clinch the best-of-seven series 4-3, after the previous six games had all gone the way of the home team.

Argentine Manu Ginobili led the way for the Spurs with 26 points, five rebounds and five assists while point guard Tony Parker contributed 17 points and Tim Duncan 16.

"It just happened that I made a lot of shots in the first half," Ginobili said in a courtside television interview.

"In the second, I didn't play as good but we played solid and we kept them to 82 points which is great for us. It was great team work."

David West top-scored with 20 points for the Hornets, who posted a franchise-record 56 victories in the regular season.

Play-maker Chris Paul, a first-year All Star, was held to 18 points and eight rebounds.

"We did a very good job on him (Paul) and we've got to give Tony (Parker) and Bruce (Bowen) a lot of credit for that," Ginobili added.

TOUGH JOB

"Chris Paul is a heck of a player. He is very smart and good finishing at the paint so it was a tough job. But they did unbelievable work in the last two games."

Although the Spurs have become accustomed to success, with four NBA titles in the last nine seasons, they were delighted to advance to the conference final with a rare road win after coming back from 2-0 and then 3-2 down in the series.

"We believe we can win on the road," Duncan said.

"It didn't happen in the first three (games) but we really did believe we had a chance to win here and get it done.

"This was huge for us. Being on the road, moving on to the conference finals, the situation that we were down 2-0, a lot of different factors come into it.

"Just to sustain everything that they gave us and to find a way to win, this is a huge series for us."

The Hornets failed in their bid to reach the conference final for the first time in the franchise's 20-year history, but coach Byron Scott was delighted with their progress.

"A lot of people didn't expect us to be where we are," he said.

"Like I tell the guys, you don't go from not making the playoffs to winning the championship, it just doesn't work that way. But I think we have developed something special here.

"Obviously we've got to add some pieces to the puzzle, but we are heading in the right direction and I like the direction that we are in."

(Writing by Mark Lamport-Stokes in Los Angeles; Editing by Peter Rutherford)