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The San Antonio Spurs, I think, are finally getting into that gear called overdrive; by that analogy, I mean that they finally seem to be able to overcome deficits to pull out victories on a somewhat regular basis.  In any case, the Spurs, in their game against the Golden State Warriors on Monday night, do what good veteran teams do – which is pull victory from the jaws of defeat.  Specifically, they came from a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter – with a little help from Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili – as San Antonio edged Golden State 110-105 at Oracle Arena.

Both teams played the game relatively close in the first half as San Antonio outscored Golden State 27-25 in the first quarter but the Warriors outscored the Spurs 27-21 in the second quarter, giving Golden State a slim 52-48 lead going into halftime.  The Warriors increased their lead to 12 before Ginobili found his shooting groove in rallying the Spurs to within 79-75 going into the fourth quarter.

Golden State’s Stephen Jackson drained a jumper with 1:02 left in regulation which gave the Warriors a 95-91 lead but Ginobili sank 4 free throws in the final 49 seconds of the period and Jackson’s desperation jumper fell short, sending the game into overtime.  Duncan’s 5 points in the extra period would be the key as San Antonio pulled out the win.

San Antonio’s Big Three provided the bulk of the team’s scoring, led by Duncan and Ginobili with 32 points each – with Duncan grabbing 15 rebounds, dishing out 5 assists along with a blocked shot but committing 6 turnovers while Ginobili grabbed 3 rebounds, dished out 3 assists along with 2 steals and a blocked shot; Tony Parker added 23 with 5 rebounds, 7 assists and a steal but committing 6 turnovers.

Golden State was led by Jackson with 33 points, 5 rebounds, 11 assists and 4 steals while Monta Ellis added 17 with 8 rebounds, 4 assists, a steal and 2 blocked shots; Corey Maggette pitched in 15 with 5 rebounds and an assist.  San Antonio (33-14) plays again on Tuesday when they travel to Denver to take on the Nuggets while Golden State (15-34) remains home to host the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday night.