Tony Parker

Eighteen wins in a row, and eight more victories to go. That says it all about how the San Antonio Spurs are steamrolling through these playoffs at a pace that is flirting with NBA history, even if they are saying as little about it as possible. "We don't have any secret. We don't even think about it," Spurs guard Tony Parker said. There's plenty for everyone else to mull. Like whether these Spurs — some 13 years after winning their first of four championships — actually might be the best version yet. Game 1 of their first Western Conference finals since 2008 will be...

PHILADELPHIA - The Celtics should enter Wednesday night's Game 6 showdown with the 76ers feeling somewhat embarrassed for allowing the series to last this long. They have dominated the five games, only to have Philadelphia steal two games with better fourth-quarter execution. Wednesday night's game at the Wells Fargo Center will be the most difficult of the season for the Celtics, because this is a team that has not shown the ability to close out opponents with ease. It has been a struggle in recent years for them to win the final games of series, except for Game 6 of the 2008 Finals...

PHILADELPHIA - The Celtics should enter Wednesday night's Game 6 showdown with the 76ers feeling somewhat embarrassed for allowing the series to last this long. They have dominated the five games, only to have Philadelphia steal two games with better fourth-quarter execution. Wednesday night's game at the Wells Fargo Center will be the most difficult of the season for the Celtics, because this is a team that has not shown the ability to close out opponents with ease. It has been a struggle in recent years for them to win the final games of series, except for Game 6 of the 2008 Finals against the...

PHILADELPHIA - The Celtics should enter Wednesday night's Game 6 showdown with the 76ers feeling somewhat embarrassed for allowing the series to last this long. They have dominated the five games, only to have Philadelphia steal two games with better fourth-quarter execution. Wednesday night's game at the Wells Fargo Center will be the most difficult of the season for the Celtics, because this is a team that has not shown the ability to close out opponents with ease. It has been a struggle in recent years for them to win the final games of series, except for Game 6 of the 2008 Finals against the...

Down 2-0 against the San Antonio Spurs, the Los Angeles Clippers face the tough task of needing two victories at home to keep pace with the NBA's hottest team. Making things worse are injuries to Chris Paul and Blake Griffin that have robbed the superstars of their effectiveness. "The mood is still pretty good," Griffin said Friday after practice and a video session. "We're not completely out of this. " Not yet. Game 3 on Saturday is particularly crucial for the Clippers because no team in NBA history has ever rallied from a 3-0 deficit to win a series.

PHILADELPHIA - The Celtics should enter Wednesday night's Game 6 showdown with the 76ers feeling somewhat embarrassed for allowing the series to last this long. They have dominated the five games, only to have Philadelphia steal two games with better fourth-quarter execution. Wednesday night's game at the Wells Fargo Center will be the most difficult of the season for the Celtics, because this is a team that has not shown the ability to close out opponents with ease. It has been a struggle in recent years for them to win the final games of series, except...

Andrew Bynum had 16 points and 30 rebounds, the most in an NBA game this season, and the Los Angeles Lakers didn't need Kobe Bryant to blow out the San Antonio Spurs 98-84 Wednesday night. Metta World Peace scored 26 points and the Lakers, playing their third straight game without the injured Bryant, manhandled the Spurs underneath to hand the West's second-place team one of their most embarrassing losses this season. Bryant is sitting out to heal his sore left shin. There remains no timetable on when the NBA's leading scorer might return.

Final score, Spurs, 87-86: Paul Pierce missed a jumper at the buzzer. Tim Duncan had 10 points and 16 rebounds as the Spurs outrebounded the Celtics, 53-39. 4th quarter, :46.5 , Spurs, 87-83: The Spurs scored six successive points in a 2:40 span, off a Gary Neal second-chance 3-pointer, a Tim Duncan foul shot off a defensive rebound, and a Matt Bonner jumper. 4th quarter, 2:33, Celtics, 83-81: Paul Pierce tied the score, 79-79, with a 3-pointer with 4:20 to go, then found Avery Bradley for a layup and a two-point lead with 3:46 remaining.

No one could say for certain that this was Steve Nash's final game in a Phoenix uniform, but the Suns' fans certainly sensed it was. As a meaningless 110-106 loss to the depleted San Antonio Spurs wound down on Wednesday night, the crowd stood and chanted "We want Nash" over and over. First it was just a few fans. Then it spread through the whole building. Finally, coach Alvin Gentry sent the 38-year-old point guard back onto the court for a few plays before Nash left to rousing cheers.

Manu Ginobili broke out of his shooting slump with 17 points to lead the San Antonio Spurs to an 87-81 victory over the Utah Jazz on Monday night and a sweep of their first-round Western Conference series. Ginobili was 0 for 8 from beyond the arc in the first three games. But after Utah pulled within 61-58 with 3:18 left in the third, he hit consecutive 3-pointers then added another as the Spurs regained control, taking a 76-58 lead early in the fourth. The Jazz went scoreless for more than 8 minutes during a 15-0 Spurs run. Utah made a furious charge late...

Eighteen wins in a row, and eight more victories to go. That says it all about how the San Antonio Spurs are steamrolling through these playoffs at a pace that is flirting with NBA history, even if they are saying as little about it as possible. "We don't have any secret. We don't even think about it," Spurs guard Tony Parker said. There's plenty for everyone else to mull. Like whether these Spurs — some 13 years after winning their first of four championships — actually might be the best version yet. Game 1 of their first Western Conference finals since 2008 will be...

On his 30th birthday, Tony Parker first kept the San Antonio Spurs on pace for what might be another lopsided playoff sweep. Then the All-Star who's always quick to needle Tim Duncan about his age finally acknowledged his own. "I'm old. Used," said Parker, laughing. Chris Paul, meanwhile, isn't acknowledging anything: Not his aching body that everyone but him is talking about, or the Los Angeles Clippers' season careening toward the end this weekend unless things change fast.

Down 2-0 against the San Antonio Spurs, the Los Angeles Clippers face the tough task of needing two victories at home to keep pace with the NBA's hottest team. Making things worse are injuries to Chris Paul and Blake Griffin that have robbed the superstars of their effectiveness. "The mood is still pretty good," Griffin said Friday after practice and a video session. "We're not completely out of this. " Not yet. Game 3 on Saturday is particularly crucial for the Clippers because no team in NBA history has ever rallied from a 3-0 deficit to win...

The San Antonio Spurs had just taken Game 1, and Manu Ginobili didn't want to hear another word about winning 15 in a row or not losing in more than a month. "I don't even want to know about that," Ginobili said. On the other side of the AT&T Center, Clippers' All-Star Chris Paul needed no reminder that his wretched performance contributed to the Spurs' 108-92 victory over Los Angeles in the opener of the Western Conference semifinals on Tuesday night. He just needed to deliver the message to his kid. "Good game, Daddy," Paul's young...

San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich shrugged when asked about Manu Ginobili's mini-shooting slump. "I don't even think about it. He's Manu," he said. True to form, the Spurs' invaluable sixth man led the charge off the bench when San Antonio needed it most. He hit consecutive 3-pointers after the Utah Jazz had pulled to 61-58 late in the third quarter in Game 4 of the first-round Western Conference series. And after the Jazz rallied from 21 points down to get within 4 in the final minute, Ginobili turned a steal by Tony Parker into a layup that...

Manu Ginobili broke out of his shooting slump with 17 points to lead the San Antonio Spurs to an 87-81 victory over the Utah Jazz on Monday night and a sweep of their first-round Western Conference series. Ginobili was 0 for 8 from beyond the arc in the first three games. But after Utah pulled within 61-58 with 3:18 left in the third, he hit consecutive 3-pointers then added another as the Spurs regained control, taking a 76-58 lead early in the fourth. The Jazz went scoreless for more than 8 minutes during a 15-0 Spurs run. Utah made a furious charge late and was within 83-79 on Al...

The San Antonio Spurs had just taken Game 1, and Manu Ginobili didn't want to hear another word about winning 15 in a row or not losing in more than a month. "I don't even want to know about that," Ginobili said. On the other side of the AT&T Center, Clippers' All-Star Chris Paul needed no reminder that his wretched performance contributed to the Spurs' 108-92 victory over Los Angeles in the opener of the Western Conference semifinals on Tuesday night. He just needed to deliver the message to his kid. "Good game, Daddy," Paul's young son told this father in the...

Kevin Durant had 21 points and 10 rebounds, reserve James Harden scored 20 and the Oklahoma City Thunder became the first NBA team to win three games on consecutive nights this season by beating the San Antonio Spurs 108-96 Sunday. Durant needed only three more assists to record his first career triple-double but instead sat out the entire fourth quarter with the rest of Oklahoma City's starters. The Thunder were able to coast to the finish for the second time in their back-to-back-to-back set after outscoring the Spurs 37-21 in the third.

The San Antonio Spurs were feeling good Monday night after sweeping their first-round Western Conference series with the Utah Jazz. They also were feeling some pain. "I'm sore," said reserve Stephen Jackson, who played 26 minutes in the down-to-the wire 87-81 victory. "Those guys play hard. " Fortunately, the Spurs are going to get some rest before the next round. San Antonio awaits the winner of the Grizzlies-Clippers series, which may not be decided until Sunday.

Tony Parker scored 27 points, including 16 in the fourth quarter, as the San Antonio Spurs defeated the Utah Jazz 102-90 Saturday night to take a 3-0 lead in their first-round Western Conference playoff series. No NBA team has ever overcome an 0-3 deficit to win a best-of-seven series. The Spurs can close it out Monday night in Salt Lake City. Al Jefferson and Devin Harris scored 21 apiece for Utah, while Derrick Favors added 15 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks in his most extensive action of the series.