Written by Andrew Lynch at FoxSports.com
Twilight was approaching for the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday.
They trailed the Houston Rockets and were without their franchise player, Kawhi Leonard, who suffered an ankle injury in the second half of a pivotal Game 5.
This, on top of Tony Parker’s absence, seemed to doom Gregg Popovich’s crew. They were without an experienced play maker — forced to rely on LaMarcus Aldridge, of all people.
Then Manu Ginobili reminded everyone he’s not done yet.
By now, you’ve seen the play a thousand times and from every angle. Knowing James Harden needed to take a 3-pointer with the clock ticking toward all-zeroes, Ginobili leaped first, meeting the MVP candidate at the apex of his shot for one of the biggest blocks of this NBA season.
Regardless of how the 2017 playoffs shake out for the Spurs, that play will go on an endless loop in Ginobili’s career highlights — and it wasn’t just his defense that carried the day in Game 5, given that San Antonio led 110-107 when he came away with that rejection.
Every time the Rockets threatened to pull away, Ginobili kept the Spurs in the game with a big play, including a momentum-shifting dunk, because age is apparently an illusion. He had just 12 points but added seven rebounds, five assists, and most importantly, didn’t commit a turnover.
Truly, Ginobili saved San Antonio’s season on Tuesday night, silencing anyone who questioned why the future Hall of Famer came back for another year.
Unfortunately, all Ginobili did in Game 5 was delay the inevitable.
This Rockets-Spurs series has perfectly illustrated San Antonio’s shortcomings in a potential Western Conference finals series against the Golden State Warriors. It’s not that the Spurs lack athleticism, although that will be a problem against the team that went to back-to-back NBA Finals.
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