Tim Duncan

SAN ANTONIO - He did it with lobs into the post, simple bounce passes and wild flings into the corners. Wherever Tony Parker put the ball Tuesday night at AT&T Center, the San Antonio Spurs usually turned it into a basket. Including the one they needed most. Tim Duncan took one of Parker's passes late in overtime and made a floating jumper that helped the Spurs hold on for a 93-89 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Uh-oh, 2-0? The San Antonio Spurs find themselves in a familiar place, having won the first two games of the Western Conference finals for a second consecutive season. This is where their season unraveled in stunning fashion last year amid a barrage of baskets by Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden. The Spurs lost four consecutive games, a season-ending slide that seemed all the more improbable considering they had won their previous 20 games.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Uh-oh, 2-0? The San Antonio Spurs find themselves in a familiar place, having won the first two games of the Western Conference finals for a second consecutive season. This is where their season unraveled in stunning fashion last year amid a barrage of baskets by Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden. The Spurs lost four consecutive games, a season-ending slide that seemed all the more improbable considering they had won their previous 20 games.

SAN ANTONIO - He did it with lobs into the post, simple bounce passes and wild flings into the corners. Wherever Tony Parker put the ball Tuesday night at AT&T Center, the San Antonio Spurs usually turned it into a basket. Including the one they needed most. Tim Duncan took one of Parker's passes late in overtime and made a floating jumper that helped the Spurs hold on for a 93-89 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals.

The San Antonio Spurs swept the Clippers in the Western Conference semifinals, but there was no love lost between Tim Duncan and Chris Paul. After the Spurs closed the series, Duncan walked down the hall to say hello to Paul and his 2-year-old son, Chris. Paul prompts little Chris to tell Duncan where he wants to go to college. "To my birthday," little Chris said.  Paul then helps his son out. "Wake Forest," he said.  After little Chris repeated his father's words, Duncan, a Wake Forest alumni, flashed a huge smile.

at San Antonio 94, New Jersey 91: Tim Duncan had 30 points and 15 rebounds and Michael Finley made a pivotal three-point shot for the Spurs with 22.6 seconds left. San Antonio has won four in a row heading into a trip that begins Sunday against the Lakers. at Indiana 107, Houston 102: The Rockets, already without Tracy McGrady and Ron Artest because of injuries, lost All-Star center Yao Ming in the first half because of a sore knee. Danny Granger scored 25 points for the Pacers.

San Antonio Spurs stars Tim Duncan and Tony Parker had some fun at NBA referee Joey Crawford's expense at a Halloween party this year, based on a photo that recently surfaced on Reddit. But some people -- Crawford, who seems to have little sense of humor when it comes to anything involving Duncan, and possibly Commissioner David Stern to name another -- might not find the picture too amusing. Duncan and Parker were photographed holding fake guns to the head of someone else dressed as Crawford and apparently leading him to a noose hanging from above.

SAN ANTONIO - He might be getting older, but Spurs power forward Tim Duncan does not appear to have lost a step. For the second straight game, Duncan schooled the younger Clippers defenders in footwork and fundamentals, and helped lead his Spurs to a 2-0 series advantage with a win in San Antonio on Thursday night. The two-time NBA most valuable player scored 18 points on nine-for-14 shooting to help San Antonio cruise to a 105-88 victory. The win takes the 36-year-old yet another step closer to his fifth NBA title.

On the surface, it seems pretty simple. Kobe Bryant has been a greater player than Tim Duncan. But is he really better? It's not so simple when you look at the numbers: Kobe has won five NBA titles with the Lakers. Tim Duncan has won four titles with the San Antonio Spurs and could win his fifth this season. Kobe has won two NBA Finals MVP awards. Duncan has won three NBA Finals MVP awards. Kobe is a 14-time All-Star. Duncan is a 13-time All-Star. Kobe has won one regular-season MVP award.

San Antonio 108, at New Jersey 93: Tim Duncan had 27 points, nine rebounds and eight assists and the Spurs beat the Nets for the 13th straight time. Vince Carter scored 25 points for New Jersey, which lost its second straight game after winning a season-high four straight.

2 San Antonio vs. 5 Memphis Season series: Tied, 2-2. Key stat: Memphis is averaging a league-low 11.1 turnovers a game in the playoffs, with point guard Mike Conley averaging only 1.9 turnovers in 38.5 minutes. Outlook: Both teams will have to hit the reboot button to prepare for a dramatically different opponent than they faced in the previous round. Having vanquished guard-oriented Golden State, San Antonio must deal with the interior tandem of Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph, who are averaging a combined 38 points and 17.2 rebounds in the playoffs.

Western Conference semifinal No. 2 San Antonio vs. No. 6 Golden State Season series: Tied, 2-2. Key stat: Stephen Curry averaged 28 points per game in Golden State's victories over Denver in the first round and 17 points in the Warriors' losses. Outlook: San Antonio will have had more than a week's rest by the opening tip of this series, which always comes in handy when you have a roster with players in their 30s nursing sore shins, ankles and necks. Spurs forward Boris Diaw is expected to play for the first time since having a synovial cyst removed from his lower spinal cord on April 12. The Spurs could also get back forward Tiago Splitter, who severely sprained his left ankle in Game 3 of the team's first-round sweep of the Lakers.

Spurs 91, Lakers 79 (end of regulation) The San Antonio Spurs (58-24) took a 1-0 lead in their first-round playoff series against the Lakers (45-37). The Lakers challenged throughout the game but the Spurs answered every run. Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker each scored 18 points for the Spurs while Tim Duncan had a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds as the Spurs shot 37.6% from the field. The Lakers had 18 turnovers and shot only 41.1% from the field and 20.0% from three-point range (3 of 15)

Even without Kobe Bryant, it's the most compelling first-round series. Everybody loves an underdog, but everybody seems to hate the free-spending Lakers, so whom does America root for in this one? The vanilla-flavored San Antonio Spurs or the Blake Mambas? The team that does everything adored by basketball purists or the guys who do nothing enjoyed by traditionalists? The team with a dinged-up Tony Parker or the team with a messed-up Steve Nash? They appear to be evenly matched on paper, their final combined scores through three games standing at 278-278.

The Lakers are unlikely to advance past the San Antonio Spurs -- at least according to the oddsmakers at gambling website Bovada. The Spurs are 33-20 favorites (1.65-1) to beat the Lakers in five games.  Conversely, the Lakers have 28-1 odds that they will defeat San Antonio in five. If the Spurs don't win four games in five tries, they're expected to do it in either four (14-5 odds or 2.8-1), six (7-2 odds or 3.5-1) or seven (4-1 odds). The Lakers are longshots to beat the Spurs, but if they do, Bovada favors the Lakers in six (8-1 odds)

The momentum the Clippers built before the All-Star break is over, crushed by a basketball clinic put on by the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday night. Offensively, the Spurs sliced up the Clippers' defense. Defensively, the Spurs stymied seemingly everything the Clippers tried. The result was an easy 116-90 Spurs victory at Staples Center, L.A.'s largest loss of the season. San Antonio showed why it has the best record in the NBA at 44-12, with Tony Parker scoring 31 points to lead four players in double figures.

Reporting from San Antonio The two big men stood toe to toe going at each other, neither backing down, neither much of an offensive threat. But for the Lakers to have Pau Gasol stand his ground against Spurs All-Star forward Tim Duncan on Wednesday night proved to be a big difference in the Lakers' 92-83 victory. "It wasn't the greatest offensive night for either of us, obviously," Gasol said. "But I just tried to make an impact on the game defensively and rebounding."

Looking ahead SAN ANTONIO AT CLIPPERS: Thursday at 7:30 p.m. TV: TNT The team with the best record in the NBA can't seem to beat the Clippers. The Spurs are 0-2 against the team they swept out of the Western Conference semifinals last season, even losing on a home court where they had won 17 of their previous 18 meetings. The common irritant in both defeats this season has been Clippers point guard Chris Paul, who averaged 14.5 points and 10 assists in those games. On the plus side for San Antonio, it is back at full strength after Tony Parker, Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili sat out recent games because of injuries.

San Antonio Spurs stars Tim Duncan and Tony Parker had some fun at NBA referee Joey Crawford's expense at a Halloween party this year, based on a photo that recently surfaced on Reddit. But some people -- Crawford, who seems to have little sense of humor when it comes to anything involving Duncan, and possibly Commissioner David Stern to name another -- might not find the picture too amusing. Duncan and Parker were photographed holding fake guns to the head of someone else dressed as Crawford and apparently leading him to a noose hanging from above.