"Midway through the fourth quarter of the Spurs' 110-102 Game 2 loss Wednesday night, Manu Ginobili caught the ball on the right wing, so close to the Phoenix bench that coach Alvin Gentry would later joke he was the one defending him. What happened next made Gentry's heart stop. Ginobili, in the midst of an otherwise forgettable night, let fly a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer, with the degree of difficulty set at 11, and buried it. It was Ginobili's second field goal of the game. Gentry feared it would not be his last. "Every time he makes one, you get real nervous," Gentry said. "When he gets it going, he can almost will them to a win." With a crucial Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals on the line, Ginobili's will would not be enough. The floodgates never opened. The magic never came. Instead, the Suns did what they've never done in the postseason against the Tim Duncan-era Spurs. They hung on to take their first 2-0 lead over the Spurs in a playoff series in 17 years. For the Spurs, Game 3 on Friday just became a must-win. "They protected their home court," Duncan said. "Now we need to do that." Only 14 teams in NBA history have survived that deficit to win a best-of-7 series. Two seasons ago in this round, the Spurs game back from a 2-0 hole to bounce New Orleans in seven games." http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Spurs_head_home_facing_daunting_0-2_deficit.html
