Agence France Presse

San Antonio, June 13:

San Antonio Spurs continued to show their mettle in the playoffs crushing the Detroit Pistons 97-76 to seize a 2-0 lead in the NBA finals. Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Bruce Bowen, Robert Horry and Tony Parker all scored in double figures as San Antonio led from start to finish against the defending champion Pistons. Each game it seems a different Spur raises the level of his game and on Sunday it was Bowen’s turn. He added 15 points and three rebounds and reserve Horry had 12 points. Ginobili scored a game-high 27 and Duncan had 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Spurs who finished strong going on a 16-3 run to end the game. Antonio McDyess came off the bench to lead the Pistons with 15 points. It was another demoralising loss for the Pistons, who had hoped to rebound in game two of the best-of-seven series after scoring just 69 points in the opening contest.

Pistons have been behind three times in playoff series so far, and each time they have come back to win. Detroit stopped Ginobili from driving to the basket in the first half, but they couldn’t prevent him from getting his teammates involved. Ginobili, also the top scorer in game one, finished with seven assists. This is only the third time in NBA history the league’s past two champions have squared off in the final. The Spurs shot 46.8 per cent from the field and nailed 11 3-pointers. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich went to his bench in the first half, not because he was forced to or they were in trouble, but because Horry, Brent Barry and Beno Udrih are playing so well. The series switches to Detroit on Tuesday.