San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard (2) drives to the basket as Los Angeles Lakers forward Pau Gasol (behind) defends during game two of the first round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at AT&T Center. (Photo: Soobum Im, USA TODAY Sports) SAN ANTONIO – Metta World Peace may have been right about Gregg Popovich. Maybe, as the Los Angeles Lakers small forward said recently, the San Antonio Spurs' general could coach five old ladies deep into the NBA playoffs. But as the Lakers fell 102-91 to the Spurs on Wednesday night at the AT&T Center to fall behind 2-0 in their Western Conference first-round series, this much became clear: Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni won't likely be doing the same with his group of elderly men. BOX SCORE: Spurs 102, Lakers 91 SCHEDULE: All the first-round action Even with all the improvements from Game One, the improved shooting, fighting spirit, sound gameplan and the like, the wheels on the Lakers' walkers just keep on spinning. They're too banged up, too battered and bruised from a season's worth of struggles to pull off this type of task. It was there for all to see midway through the fourth quarter, when 39-year-old Steve Nash broke free for an underhanded runner that cut the Spurs' lead to 10 points and was his vintage style up until the painful point after the play. Nash, just two games into his return from hip and hamstring problems and with nerves that clearly screamed at him all game long, turned to run to the other end and looked like a boomerang that just kept going. From Nash to Metta World Peace (knee) to Kobe Bryant (season-ending Achilles tendon tear) to the latest player to come back from surgery earlier than expected, Jordan Hill (hip), even the most basic of movements are problematic for so many of these Lakers. And the Spurs are clearly not above parking in their handicap spot. The defense that both teams could boast about in the opener was still there for the Spurs, who held the Lakers to 44.4% shooting. Their offense that scored just 91 points and shot just 37.6% on Sunday was refined this time around, as the Spurs shot 51.1% and allowed just nine turnovers. And while the mystery of what Popovich could do with the local ladies from the Bingo hall on his roster will have to remain, the old men that he has at his disposal continue to turn back time. Spurs point guard Tony Parker, who is a mere 30 years old but has more than a few dog years in there after so many playoff battles, scored 15 of his 28 points in a third quarter in which San Antonio kept the Lakers at an arm's length as they led 78-68 entering the fourth. This was the same Parker whose ankle problems had been such a major concern for Popovich coming in, who struggled so mightily in Game One. FTW: Get all of your NBA playoff buzz Spurs guard Manu Ginobili, himself coming off a serious hamstring injury that kept him out of the last nine regular season games, was a difference-maker yet again with 19 points. Forward Tim Duncan was his steady self, overcoming a determined Dwight Howard to score 16 points. If the Lakers of Game Two had faced off against the Lakers of Game One, then it would have been a rout by the time halftime came along rather than the 56-48 deficit they faced. They hit the threes that were nowhere to be found in the opener, with Steve Blake and Metta World Peace opening up the paint with the long-range game early and the Lakers matching their game-long total from the first faceoff (three) late in the first quarter. Howard (16 points, nine rebounds) made the most of the welcome space, playing the part of aggressor down low and – in what was a rare sighting – willing villain. With Matt Bonner the irritant doing all he could to contain Howard, he draped his arms around his shoulders like a coat midway through the second quarter as the Lakers big man rose up for his finish. Howard – who had delivered a right elbow to Bonner's head minutes earlier while fighting for position that only he knows whether it was intentional - hit the shot, drew the foul and flexed for a Spurs crowd that sent so many boos his way. The Lakers were up 44-43, Howard was playing with an aggression and desperation on both ends not often seen this season, and it seemed they were on their way to righting all that went wrong the first time around. But then, amidst Kawhi Leonard's spark (14 first-half points on seven of 10 shooting) and Duncan's savvy scoring (12 of his 16 points in the first half), it was Ginobili to the rescue again. After five straight points from Bonner on a three and a runner from the right, Ginobili hit two straight threes to close the half in a most fortuitous fashion. His first was something out of a Harlem Globetrotters play gone wrong – Ginobili's pass through the lane bounced off the head of Spurs forward DeJuan Blair, fell to Bonner, and was kicked over to a wide-open Ginobili for the 51-46 edge. The second was Spurs smooth in every way, with Blair setting a textbook screen on Darius Morris up top as the clock wound down and Ginobili struck again. PHOTOS: Spurs-Lakers series Story Highlights
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Source : http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/2013/04/25/los-angeles-lakers-vs-san-antonio-spurs-tim-duncan-manu-ginobili-tony-parker-dwight-howard-pau-gasol/2111003/