NBA PLAYOFFS: Spurs crank up their effort

SAN ANTONIO - Gregg Popovich urged his San Antonio Spurs to raise their energy to almost maniacal levels, because winning the battle on the boards and for loose balls was critical against the athletic Golden State Warriors.

The Spurs responded to their coach's message, outworking and outmuscling Golden State to take a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference semifinals.

Tony Parker had 25 points and 10 assists, and the Spurs held the Warriors' starting backcourt to 13 points for a 109-91 victory Tuesday night.

The Spurs outrebounded the Warriors 38-36, forced 14 turnovers and limited them to 16 second-chance points.

"Our energy was good," Parker said. "We got the 50-50 ball; that was huge for us tonight. It was a tough turnaround for us in Game 4. We missed an opportunity at the end and we realize that. Tonight we played for 48 minutes."

Kawhi Leonard added 17 points, Danny Green scored 16 and Tim Duncan had 14 points and 11 rebounds for San Antonio.

Harrison Barnes scored 25 points, Jarrett Jack added 20 and Carl Landry 16 for Golden State, but Stephen Curry was held to nine points.

"I was terrible, plain and simple," Curry said. "They outplayed us as a team. Individually, I didn't have anything on either end. (I was) a step slow, my shot wasn't falling and I was trying to make plays but defensively I lost a little focus."

Parker took advantage, going 9 for 16 and turning the ball over only twice in 34 minutes.

His energy was just as big a spark.

Parker dove over Jarrett Jack midway through the third quarter to corral a loose ball, rising to lead a fast break that resulted in a dunk by Green.

Even Popovich displayed more energy, chasing referee Ed Malloy down the sidelines from the free throw line to just past midcourt while screaming and motioning for a timeout with 9 minutes left in the game.

The added energy was especially evident against Curry and Klay Thompson.

The Spurs held Mark Jackson's self-proclaimed "greatest shooting backcourt" in NBA history to 6-for-22 shooting. Curry was 1 for 7 on 3-pointers, while Thompson was held to four points while not even attempting a 3.

"The series for us is all about the defense," Popovich said. "(Leonard and Green) did a good job; (there were) other people who did good work out there. We got a lot of mismatches. They love those mismatches, so we have to play intelligently. I thought we did that tonight.

"But we followed up the defense with a board. There is no stop until the board is secured. That was our main emphasis going into the game."

Curry has not missed any time since turning his left ankle late in Game 3, but the injury seemed to limit his explosiveness.

Leonard stripped Curry and then outran him to the ball midway through the first quarter, feeding Parker for an uncontested layup. Curry appeared to grimace when he attempted to push off to sprint for the loose ball.

"It is sore, but I came in feeling good," Curry said. "I was pretty optimistic about how I could play tonight, but it didn't go that way."

He played only 4 1/2 minutes in the fourth quarter, leaving the game for good with 4 minutes left and San Antonio leading 102-84.

"It got to a point where they had made plays and I had to look towards Game 6," Jackson said. "It was just being smart, that's all. I didn't want to see him get hurt. Obviously, he wasn't 100 percent. I just felt if we were going to make a run, let's make a run and then maybe get him back in, but it was just a long night for us."

The Spurs led for all but the opening 6 minutes of the game and moved one game closer to advancing to their 12th conference finals in franchise history.

"Nobody talks about getting this over with like you've got a rash," Popovich said. "Like you can take a pill or put some cream on it, it's going to be gone. This is a war. They're a class team; they bust their ass at both ends of the floor. It's not about getting rid of anything. It's about going and playing and that's about it."

San Antonio went on a 12-2 run to take a 102-84 lead with 4 minutes remaining. The Warriors missed two shots and had two turnovers to facilitate the Spurs' run.

San Antonio shot 72 percent in the first quarter, pounding the ball inside for layups and kick outs to open shooters in taking a 10-point lead.

Duncan battered Andrew Bogut early, making San Antonio's first three baskets on a drive and a jumper over the Australian and on a layup against Landry off a hard pick by Tiago Splitter.

San Antonio went on a 15-0 run on a series of drives to the basket and low-post moves, taking a 27-15 lead.

Curry and Thompson were held to a combined four points on 2-for-10 shooting in the opening 16 minutes, but Barnes had 13 points and Jack seven.

"We just missed shots," Curry said. "Early in the game I got a little off balance a couple (times) trying to get a foul. They play good defense. We didn't get into a rhythm. We just missed shots."

Curry did not make his first 3 until there were 2 minutes left in the first half.

The Spurs stopped going inside in the second quarter, helping Golden State rally.

The Spurs returned to attacking the basket in the third, resulting in another double-digit lead.

GOLDEN STATE (91)

Barnes 10-18 3-4 25, Landry 4-7 8-12 16, Bogut 1-2 0-0 2, Curry 4-14 0-0 9, Thompson 2-8 0-0 4, Ezeli 0-0 0-0 0, Lee 3-3 0-0 6, Jack 9-16 0-0 20, Dr.Green 0-0 2-2 2, Jefferson 2-4 2-3 7, Biedrins 0-0 0-0 0, Bazemore 0-2 0-2 0, Machado 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 35-75 15-23 91.

SAN ANTONIO (109)

Leonard 7-8 0-0 17, Duncan 5-13 4-4 14, Splitter 1-2 2-2 4, Parker 9-16 7-10 25, Da.Green 6-10 2-2 16, Diaw 3-5 2-2 8, Ginobili 3-9 2-4 10, Joseph 3-7 0-1 7, Neal 0-1 0-0 0, Bonner 1-1 0-0 3, McGrady 0-1 0-0 0, Blair 1-2 0-0 2, Mills 1-2 0-0 3. Totals 40-77 19-25 109.

Golden State 28 23 21 19 - 91

San Antonio 37 17 29 26 - 109

3-Point Goals-Golden State 6-16 (Barnes 2-3, Jack 2-4, Jefferson 1-2, Curry 1-7), San Antonio 10-21 (Leonard 3-4, Ginobili 2-4, Da.Green 2-5, Bonner 1-1, Mills 1-2, Joseph 1-4, Neal 0-1). Fouled Out-None. Rebounds-Golden State 45 (Barnes 7), San Antonio 46 (Duncan 11). Assists-Golden State 18 (Curry 8), San Antonio 30 (Parker 10). Total Fouls-Golden State 20, San Antonio 20. A-18,581 (18,797).

Pacers 93, Knicks 82 - At Indianapolis, George Hill scored 26 points and Paul George added 18 points and 14 rebounds, leading the Indiana Pacers to a victory over the New York Knicks and a 3-1 lead in the second-round series.

Indiana needs one more win to reach the conference finals for the first time since 2004. Game 5 will be Thursday night at Madison Square Garden.

NBA scoring champ Carmelo Anthony fouled out with 24 points. J.R. Smith had 19 on another dreadful night for the Knicks.

The game followed a familiar pattern. New York's shooting was off, Indiana had a huge rebounding edge and the Knicks couldn't challenge in the second half.

New York didn't hang around long, either. Indiana closed the first quarter on a 9-2 run to break a 14-14 tie. New York never got closer than five the rest of the way.

Indiana improved to 5-0 at home in the playoffs and has won each time by double digits. The Pacers and Memphis Grizzlies are the only teams that haven't lost at home during the postseason.

But this was not just another off night for New York, which lost for the fifth time in seven games.

New York shot just 35.6 percent from the field, 28.6 percent on 3-pointers and was outrebounded this time 54-36.

And, at times, the Knicks lost their composure, too.

Tyson Chandler, Kenyon Martin and Amare Stoudemire combined to play 42 minutes in the first half and had a grand total of seven points, nine rebounds and nine fouls - three apiece. Chandler and Stoudemire each drew technicals and Smith was fortunate not to get another after being called for a charge.

Coach Mike Woodson complained multiple times with the officials and backup Quentin Richardson even smacked the press table with his hand after a non-call late in the first quarter.

Indiana, which has won five of its last six, could have cared less in a game it dictated for the final three quarters.

New York tied the score at 14 with 3:38 left in the first quarter, then allowed the Pacers to go ahead 23-16 lead after one.

The Knicks never led in the game, and never tied it again.

Indiana extended the lead to 30-19 early in the second quarter before Anthony tried single-handedly to rally his teammates. He produced the Knicks' next seven points and when Raymond Felton scored on a layup with 4:08 left in the half, New York cut the deficit to 35-30.

But the Pacers thwarted that rally by scoring six straight points and pulled away to take a 48-34 halftime lead.

NEW YORK (82)

Anthony 9-23 4-5 24, Martin 0-3 0-0 0, Chandler 4-9 4-4 12, Felton 7-16 0-0 14, Shumpert 0-6 0-0 0, Smith 7-22 2-3 19, Kidd 0-2 0-0 0, Stoudemire 1-2 2-2 4, Prigioni 0-0 0-0 0, Copeland 2-3 0-0 6, Novak 1-1 0-0 3. Totals 31-87 12-14 82.

INDIANA (93)

George 6-19 5-8 18, West 3-9 4-4 10, Hibbert 2-8 2-3 6, Hill 9-14 6-9 26, Stephenson 5-13 0-0 13, T.Hansbrough 1-3 0-0 2, Augustin 2-5 6-6 11, Young 2-2 0-0 5, Mahinmi 1-3 0-0 2, Johnson 0-0 0-0 0, Pendergraph 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-76 23-30 93.

New York 16 18 22 26 - 82

Indiana 23 25 19 26 - 93

3-Point Goals-New York 8-28 (Smith 3-10, Copeland 2-3, Anthony 2-6, Novak 1-1, Kidd 0-1, Felton 0-2, Shumpert 0-5), Indiana 8-25 (Stephenson 3-7, Hill 2-6, Young 1-1, Augustin 1-2, George 1-9). Fouled Out-Anthony. Rebounds-New York 47 (Chandler 10), Indiana 63 (George 14). Assists-New York 14 (Felton 6), Indiana 17 (George 7). Total Fouls-New York 29, Indiana 18. Technicals-Chandler, Stoudemire, Indiana defensive three second 2. A-18,165 (18,165).