5 things to watch: Spurs vs. Lakers Game 2

Written by Jeff Garcia on .

The San Antonio Spurs (1-0) will host the Los Angeles Lakers (0-1) in Game 2 of the 2013 NBA playoffs first round in San Antonio.

The Spurs won Game 1 in San Antonio 91-79 to take an early series lead. Manu Ginobili led the Spurs with 18 points off the bench. Tony Parker recorded 18 points, 8 assists and 3 steals while Tim Duncan had 17 points, 10 rebounds and 3 steals. Dwight Howard paced the Lakers with 20 points, 15 rebounds and 2 blocks with Pau Gasol finishing with 16 points, 16 rebounds and 6 assists.

The Lakers will have forward Jordan Hill available tonight after three months of rehabilitation for hip surgery. Hill averaged 6.7 points and 5.7 rebounds for the Lakers before his injury.

And as the Spurs look to take a commanding 2-0 lead int he series before the scene shifts to Los Angeles, here are five things to watch for during tonight's game:

• Spurs' Parker, Manu Ginobili and Duncan combined for 53 of the Spurs' 91 points in Game 1.

• When falling behind 0-1 in the opening round, the Lakers are 4-9 (Los Angeles era only).

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Video: Lakers' Nash, Blake on Game 2 vs. Spurs

Written by Paramjit Mahal on .

After the disappointing performance in Game One, the Los Angeles Lakers were back at practice yesterday making adjustments for Game 2 tonight. Following practice, Steve Nash and Steve Blake took a few moments to chat with the media regarding tonight's contest against the San Antonio Spurs.

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Four Adjustments for Spurs heading into Game 2

Written by Jose Grijalva on .

The San Antonio Spurs probably won a game they shouldn't have in Game 1 against the Los Angeles Lakers.

They dominated the Lakers while only shooting 37% (32-85) while the Lakers shot 41% (30-73). The biggest difference for the Spurs was the 3-point shooting with the silver and black outshooting the Lakers 31% (7-22) to 20% (3-15) and the bench production with the Spurs bench pouring in 40 points to the Lakers' 10.

The long range shots helped the team, but that's an aspect of the game they can't rely on for the entire series, let alone for the entire playoffs. While the Spurs defeated the Lakers in Game 1, there's four (two offensive, two defensive) adjustments the Spurs could make to possibly defeat the Lakers easily in the next game at the AT&T Center.

#1)  Make the Lakers one dimensional

Magic Johnson and Kobe Bryant had the same advice for Mike D'Antoni in "post, post, post!". Pau Gasol and Dwight Howard shot a combined 53% (15-28) from the field this game with Gasol playing 43 minutes and Howard playing 41 minutes. Although this is probably the best strategy for the Lakers, it's also the most demanding with those two in the game resting less than 10 minutes for four quarters.

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Video: Spurs-Star Trek Playoff Promo is Epic

Written by Jeff Garcia on .

The San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Lakers will resume their first round series tonight in San Antonio as the Spurs hope to take a 2-0 lead before heading to Los Angeles for Game 3. There is no doubt it will be a battle tonight and when the scene shifts to L.A., as the Lakers will be quite motivated to prove they can survive without Kobe Bryant.

But even if the Spurs advance to the second round, the teams will be tougher, the battles on the court will be more intense, and for San Antonio, this playoff run will once again test the veteran core of Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker as they hope to bring home another title before this golden era of the franchise comes to an end.

So what better way to get the blood going for this year's Spurs' playoff run than to combine the much-anticipated new Star Trek movie with Spurs basketball. Check out this video mashup of Spurs' highlights with clips from the new Star Trek movie from our friends at News 4 San Antonio. To sum it up, this is beyond cool. It's freaking awesome!

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Spurs will need more than luck, rest to react properly in Game 2 against motivated Lakers

Written by Michael A. De Leon on .

Tim DuncanFor a team with an older core barely limping into the playoffs with a banged up roster, rest between playoff games is about the best thing you can ask for.

After a physical Game 1 on Sunday against the Los Angeles Lakers, the Spurs’ elder statesmen were likely pleased to hear that their next game wouldn’t come until tonight, providing two full days of rest to heal their ailing bodies.

Tim Duncan, I’m sure, is glad he had an extra day of rest before he goes to battle against Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol tonight in the AT&T Center.

For Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, who has had to deal with his team being fined after resting players early this season, and has had to manage minutes along with more than a handful of injuries, he chalked it up to being lucky.

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Video: Popovich comments on Parker's health

Written by Jose Grijalva on .

San Antonio Spurs' Tony Parker wasn't himself when he played against the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday afternoon.

Parker has been a step slow since his ankle injury in the regular season and has not caught up to his former MVP-like play, especially with his 8-21 shooting. His counterpart, Steve Blake, got the better of him on the defensive end with steals and blocks which may have brought up fears that Parker isn't close to being fully healthy for the stretch run for the fifth championship in the franchise's history.

With his fans second guessing the health of their starting point guard, Gregg Popovich gives us an update on his health and how he's doing on a day to day basis. Check out the video below to hear Pop's comments.

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Howard thinks Spurs bigs will wear down

Written by Trevor Zickgraf on .

Heading in to the playoffs, most observers looked at the big man match up between the San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Lakers as advantage Lakers. 

Dwight Howard was finally starting to resemble Dwight Howard again and Paul Gasol had been on a tear the last week of the season.  However, Tim Duncan played better than either Laker big in game one and Tiago Splitter played good enough defense that the Spurs didn't have to adjust their defensive strategy too much. 

After the game, Howard told reporters the Spurs were aggressive on defense, but he doesn't expect that to last.

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Photo: Splitter goes into the carbon freezing chamber

Written by Paramjit Mahal on .

San Antonio Spurs' Tiago Splitter showed his method of recovery and from the looks of things, he may have angered Darth Vader and got himself put into the carbon freezing chamber.

All kidding aside, Splitter took to Twitter to show his use of the cryosauna treatment to get ready for the 2013 NBA Playoffs and yes folks, you are reading the temperature correct. That is -142 degrees Celsius via liquid nitrogen.

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Joseph's intangibles have earned him backup spot

Written by Jose Grijalva on .

USA Today SportsCory Joseph wasn't supposed to be in the playoff rotation. A call up from the D-League's Austin Toros, Joseph was supposed to fill in for the team during injuries to Tony Parker, Gary Neal, and sometimes Manu Ginobili.

The San Antonio Spurs had more than enough of a surplus with Neal, Nando De Colo, and Patty Mills fighting for minutes in one position for backup point guard.

Fast forward to Game 1 of the first round of the NBA playoffs and Cory Joseph has cracked the rotation over De Colo and Mills and head coach Gregg Popovich's reasoning is simple enough on why the Austin Toros call up has made it this far.

"Cory did a good job defensively. He was solid. He didn't make mistakes," Popovich explained postgame. "He got us into offense. He made a couple of shots, but his defense was very solid and that's what we want him to do."

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Blair's Pre-Game ritual is a sight to behold

Written by Jose Grijalva on .

DeJuan Blair hasn't gotten consistent minutes from the San Antonio Spurs. The fan base was screaming for him to be traded during the season and he seemed to have lost his place on the court until Stephen Jackson was released by the team.

But if this is Blair's final games in black and silver, he sure left us with this gem.

Blair has a very "interesting" pre-game ritual to say the last. He was caught by Spurs.com in the back heading out to the court in a choreographed dance before a game.

Check out the dance below including some of the staff taking part in Blair's fancy moves.

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