NBA: San Antonio Spurs Return To The NBA Finals, Sweeping The Memphis Grizzlies; Can Tim Duncan Win Fifth NBA Title?

The San Antonio Spurs are returning to the National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals, having completed a four-game sweep of the Memphis Grizzlies, eliminating them yesterday, 93-86.

San Antonio point guard Tony Parker dropped 37 points, his best game in the postseason thus far, giving the franchise their fifth Western Conference title.

"Since last year, I promised to [Spurs center Tim Duncan] that we will go back, go back to the Finals and get an opportunity to win the whole thing and I'm trying to do my best, try to be aggressive every night," said Parker. "I think everybody on the team, we really want to do it for him. We win the West and now it's one more step. This is the hardest one."

The Spurs are the first team to sweep conference finals since the then-New Jersey Nets swept Detroit Pistons in 2003; and the first Western Conference Finals (WCF) sweep since the Los Angeles Lakers did it in 2001. The last two teams to sweep the WCF (1999 Spurs, 2001 Lakers) went on to win the NBA Championship.

 

Duncan, Parker, and guard Manu Ginobili also become the first trio on a team other than the Celtics or Lakers to reach the NBA Finals four time, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

"You don't expect that to happen maybe this late in the game with the same group," said San Antonio head coach Gregg Popovich, looking for his fifth championship title. "It's tough to do, to maintain something that long. But it just shows the character of those three guys and their ability to play with whoever else is brought in around them. They deserve a lot of credit for that."

San Antonio awaits the winner of the Miami Heat - Indiana Pacers Eastern Conference Finals series - with the defending NBA champion Heat leading the series 2-1.

"Nothing is promised," said Duncan, who tallied 15 points, eight rebounds, and four blocked shots in Game 4 of the WCF. "Teams continue to change. Teams continue to get better every year and we seem to make minimal changes and we continue to play and compete a high level."