<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">SAN ANTONIO - Tony Parker's birthday wish came true. And he can thank one of his friends for lending a helping hand. Parker celebrated his 24th birthday Wednesday by scoring 27 points as the San Antonio Spurs stayed alive in the playoff race with a 98-97 win over the Mavericks. The Spurs now trail this best-of-seven series 3-2 with Game 6 on Friday night in Dallas. But Parker credits a telephone conversation he had Tuesday with Phoenix Suns forward Boris Diaw for helping put his mind at ease when the Spurs were behind in this series 3-1. Diaw spoke to Parker from experience. He and the Suns were down 3-1 to the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the playoffs earlier this month but battled back to win that best-of-seven series in seven games. That was all the inspiration Parker needed to hear. "One of my best friends just [successfully came from down 3-1] against the Lakers," Parker said. "We talked, so he knows it's possible, so we're going to try to do the same thing." And what advice did Diaw have? "Basically, just keep the energy high," said Parker, who scored half of the Spurs' 24 third-quarter points. "You've got to keep a positive attitude. "You can't just put your head down, or say poor me, or what's going wrong, or everything is against us. You can't think like that. You just have to go out there and play positive." That's precisely what Parker did as the Spurs lived to see another day. After receiving a birthday cake earlier in the day from teammate Melvin Sanders, Parker went out and helped the Spurs prolong their season.</div> Source
Thank you, Diaw. Now, they need two more good conversations like that so my Spurs can take the series. Of course, Dallas is a better team than the LA Lakers, though... In any event, happy birthday, Parker.
