Spurs 99, Hornets 80

5/16/2008 5:52 PM

By ELIZABETH WHITE
Associated Press Writer

SAN ANTONIO (AP) -The last thing the New Orleans Hornets wanted was to give the defending champions the whole weekend off before Game 7.

``You're playing with fire,'' coach Byron Scott said before the San Antonio Spurs beat the Hornets 99-80 Thursday night.

Too late now. It's back to New Orleans for a winner-take-all matchup Monday night.

While the aging Spurs can certainly use the time off, the break might also help the banged-up Hornets.

New Orleans forward David West aggravated a back injury when the Spurs' Robert Horry set a hard, blindside screen early in the fourth quarter.

West collapsed to the floor, face down, grabbing his back with his left arm. He hobbled off the court, helped along by people on either side, and did not return. Horry was called for an offensive foul.

Game 6 was essentially out of reach for the Hornets at that point. But whether West can recuperate by Monday may be a big factor in deciding which team advances to the Western Conference finals.

West was the key player in the Hornets' Game 5 win that put them up 3-2.

``Took a pretty good shot in the back,'' Scott said. ``Maybe it's a good thing that Game 7 is on Monday. It gives him a chance to get some rest - get that back together. Same thing with Tyson (Chandler) and his foot.''

Chandler bruised his left foot in Game 5, but scored 14 points on 7-of-8 shooting in Game 6. He also had six rebounds and blocked two shots.

West said earlier this week that he wasn't sure what caused the pain and attributed it possibly to back spasms.

``D West is a fighter. He's going to get back from this,'' Hornets point guard Chris Paul said.

Both the Spurs and Hornets took Friday off and planned to get back in the gym Saturday.

``(The layoff is) great for us,'' Spurs point guard Tony Parker said. ``Obviously that's going to help us. A lot of old guys on the team, so that's huge for us. ... Those four days are definitely going to help.''

The Spurs' three-member core is still relatively young. Parker turns 26 on Saturday, Manu Ginobili is 30 and Tim Duncan just turned 32.

But many of the team's role players, are aging and already in their mid-30s or approaching them. Horry is 37.

The Hornets have a young foundation in West (27), Paul (23) and Chandler (25).

``We'll definitely get some rest,'' Paul said. ``Coming from my locker room, we wish the game was tomorrow. We're excited about it. But we're not going to stress out about it the next three or four days. We just have to play our same game and continue to do what we've done all the playoffs, and that's take care of our home court.

``We'll watch the Lakers-Jazz game and sit patiently until Monday.''

The Hornets have not lost at home this postseason, and Paul said the team's homecourt advantage will be a boost for the young squad.

``We got to get our fans ready, we've got to be ready. It'll be a good game,'' he said. ``The fans know it's 3-3 now, just like we do and they're going to ready. I'm excited. This is what the NBA is all about.''

The veteran Spurs, who have been blown out in their previous three visits to the Big Easy, are hoping to keep it tight.

``You know, if you can't keep it close, experience is not going to help us,'' Parker said. ``If it's a blowout, they get confident and play good basketball. If we can keep it close, then it (experience) can help us in Game 7.''

The Hornets last played a Game 7 in 2004 on the road against Miami in the first round and lost. They also lost a Game 7 in 2001 in the conference semifinals on the road.

In the Duncan era, the Spurs have played two Game 7s. They beat Detroit to win the 2005 championship, and lost Game 7 in overtime against Dallas in the 2006 Western Conference semifinals. Both games were at home.

``It's not going to matter what we've done the previous six games,'' Ginobili said. ``That's all history. Now we have to play one single elimination game and we're going to have to play our best game of the season.''