Manu Ginobili Breakout Game Helps Spurs Win Game 5

Manu Ginobili Breakout Game Helps Spurs Win Game 5

Manu Ginobili finally had his breakout game in the 2013 NBA Finals between San Antonio and Miami. Scoring 24 points while dishing out 10 assists, the middle-aged Argentinean helped the Spurs beat the Heat, 114-104, in Game 5 of the NBA Finals.

The 35-year-old player was placed in the starting lineup of the Spurs for the first time in the finals by Coach Gregg Popovich. He responded positively to the confidence given to him by his coach as he scored seven points in the first quarter of the game. Ginobili said that he was able to get things going and Tony Parker helped during the first few minutes of the game.

In addition to Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker scored 26 points while Danny Green contributed 24 points for San Antonio. On the other hand, Tim Duncan also added 17 points along with 12 rebounds for the team. Danny Green also broke the NBA Finals three-point-shot record as he hit 25 three-pointers throughout the series.

Lebron James scored 25 points for Miami but he was not as dominant as he was in Game 4. He said that the team will have to work harder in Game 6 to level the series. Dwayne Wade and Ray Allen added 25 points and 21 points respectively for the Heat.

Prior to Game 5, Manu Ginobili was a bit erratic throughout the entire season. He only scored more than 20 points six times during the season and once during the playoffs. Despite this, Tony Parker was confident that his teammate will play better. He said that the entire team was confident of Manu.

When he got a spot in the starting lineup, Manu Ginobili was able to get a number of opportunities since the defense was concentrated on Tim Duncan and Tony Parker.

Giving the starting spot to Ginobili worked as the Spurs ended the first quarter with a 32-19 lead. Although Miami was able to cut the lead down in the third quarter to 75-74, San Antonio was able to bring it back up to 87-75 at the start of the fourth quarter.

With his breakout game, the crowd responded with chants for the Argentinean. Although the expectations of fans may have some effect on him, Manu Ginobili indicated that the expectations of his coach and teammates are his main concern for the moment.

Posted by Andre Monohan on Monday June 17 2013, 5:35 AM EST. Ref: USA Today. Link. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0