Winning on the road in game seven seemed like an improbability for the San Antonio Spurs, but experience rose up against the odds. Every game between the Spurs and Hornets was decided by more than ten points in each game, and whenever San Antonio played in New Orleans they were blown out of the building. But the only people feeling that painful sting after the last buzzer sounded were the heartbroken Hornets.

From the beginning of the series, the Spurs looked old and unable to play at the same pace as Chris Paul. Paul was second in MVP votes during the regular season and showed why he deserved to be in such high regard in every game. In the series he averaged almost 24 points, 11 assists and about 2.5 steals each game. With Paul’s exceptional guard play, new stars were born for the Hornets. David West was dominant not only in the paint against the Spurs defense, but also showed off his newly developed outside stroke. Unfortunately, when the Hornets needed West the most, he was invisible on the court. West started off the game with 14 quick points in the first half, but only six in the second half.

The Spurs played their style the entire game and seemed unfazed by the “Woooos” of the crowd. Even the running Peja heads in the stands could not stop the Spurs from draining 3 pointer after 3 pointer down the stretch. It is easy to see how the Spurs won when they shot 43 percent ( 12-of-28 ) from the three-point line. Veterans such as Michael Finely and Robert Horry got limited playing time, but knocked down key three-pointers whenever the Hornets looked to make a comeback. The Hornets shot a dismal 24 percent (4-of-17) from downtown and really never got the outside game going.

Many Spurs skeptics said that they could not win this series without Tim Duncan putting up big numbers. But Duncan played an even larger role by taking on the barrage of double teams every time he touched the ball, which in turn created wide open shots for shooters like Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.

The Spurs will be facing the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference finals. The Lakers breezed through their last series with the Utah Jazz and have been waiting to play their next game for quite some time. Kobe Bryant is playing better than ever and has really gotten his team more active throughout the game. This was shown when he did not take one shot in the fourth quarter of their win in game five over the Jazz. Even though the Lakers had the best record in the Western Conference, I still believe that the Spurs will beat them. The Spurs are the reigning NBA champions and know how to win the big games against the elite players. On paper, the Lakers team looks better, but the Spurs have the deep bench, which gives them that extra edge. Look for the Spurs to not only defeat the Lakers, but win the NBA finals against any Eastern Conference opponent they face.

-Sam Gerb