NBA Playoffs: Rolling 7s
Detroit is alive in the East, but two do-or-die matches tonight will decide the matchup in the Western Conference finals
As great as they've been in recent years, the San Antonio Spurs know they probably would have one less NBA championship trophy if Game 7 of last season's finals weren't played on their home court.
After six physical, up-and-down games, the Spurs won their third title in seven years with an 81-74 victory.
It's the same court where the score will be settled between the Spurs and Mavericks in their Western Conference semifinal.
After battling back from a 3-1 series deficit, the Spurs hope to have the advantage with the home crowd urging them on in Game 7 tonight.
So why is home court such a big deal?
"You're more comfortable, you sleep at home, you have your fans behind you when you make runs, and that's important at times," Spurs forward Bruce Bowen said. "But it's the game being played on the court, and it's important that we understand that it's not given to us because we're at home."
In their history, the Spurs are 2-5 in Game 7s. Besides last year's matchup with the Pistons, their only other Game 7 victory occurred in 1979 - when they resided in the Eastern Conference and defeated Philadelphia in a semifinal game that also was played in San Antonio.
The only Game 7 the Spurs lost in San Antonio was in 1981 to Houston in the Western Conference semifinals. The Rockets were coached by Del Harris, who now is an assistant coach with the Mavericks.
When they were in the ABA, the Spurs lost a Game 7 at Indiana in 1974 in the Western Division semifinals. They also lost Game 7 at New York in the 1976 ABA semifinals and at Washington in the NBA East semifinals in 1979.
The Spurs' other Game 7 loss occurred at Portland in two overtimes in the 1990 West semifinals.
As expected, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said the home team doesn't have a magical advantage when it plays a Game 7 at home. However, the home team has won 82 percent of the Game 7s, and it happened again Sunday when the host Detroit Pistons won Game 7 against the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers 79-61 in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
"It doesn't matter where it's being played and thinking about whether it's home or away," Popovich said. "It's just fool's gold."
Suns vs. Clippers: Steve Nash and the rest of the Phoenix Suns got some much-needed rest for their second Game 7 of these playoffs.
They will face a Los Angeles Clippers team playing the biggest game in that franchise's history. The winner tonight advances to the Western Conference finals, where the Clippers have never been.
"It's the ultimate," Nash said after Sunday's practice. "I think both teams are going to be extremely prideful and will play with a lot of emotion. I think it will be a great game."
The contest will be played in front of a raucous, orange-clad packed house at US Airways Center, where the Suns blew out that other Los Angeles team, the Lakers, in Game 7 of the first round.
"I don't anticipate a Lakers Game 7," the Suns' Raja Bell said. "I think they're probably more up for the challenge than the Lakers were as far as being ready to play."
Nash shed a little more light on the nature of his struggles in the series, where his shooting has been off and he hasn't moved in the style that made him the league's Most Valuable Player for the second year in a row.
Nash has a chronic back ailment he has had to deal with for years. At times, the muscles around the damaged area don't provide the support he needs.
After playing 12 playoff games in 23 days, Nash desperately needed the three-day break that precedes tonight's series finale.
The Clippers, of course, have earned some rest, too, and come to Phoenix confident that their interior play, led by Elton Brand at the best he's ever been, can bring a victory in hostile surroundings.
"It's the biggest game of my career," said Brand, who has averaged 24.5 points and 10.4 rebounds in the playoffs, "and I'm just excited and ready to go out there and play."
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