Spurs return to Championship form

I'm not sure which is the bigger story from tonight's matchup between San Antonio and New Orleans in the Western Conference Semifinal. First is the Spurs resurgence in game 3. Tim Duncan and company looked like they were pressing in the first half and had their backs against the wall. In the second half it was a different story as they came out like caged animals and really took it to New Orleans as they built up their lead, capped by Bruce Bowen's 3-pointer from the corner leading to a Hornets time out.

As I watched the second half of tonight's game I saw San Antonio convince itself it was still the reigning champs and the team regained its typical calm induced by the best coach in basketball, Gregg Popovich. Where things stand for the Spurs right now I still feel like they're reeling a bit and I am still struggling to see them move on to face Los Angeles in the Conference Finals.

The reason for that feeling, Chris Paul (I'm not a fan of the CP3 abbreviation, so you will never read it on the site aside from this reference. Nicknames should be inspiring or intimidating like "The Big Hurt" or "Air Jordan." Even "Lefty" or "Hefty" for Phil Mickelson is better than Paul's handle.)

Chris Paul looked absolutely incredible at times tonight. There were points in the game where Paul looked as dominant as any player has looked this playoffs, short of Duncan's game 1 performance against Phoenix. David West was solid in the first half and disappeared as the game wore on, and some miscues on offense as the Spurs pulled away ultimately led to the defeat. However, Paul and company are dangerous and San Antonio is living on the 3-ball right now. As Paul continues to drive the lane and create, his impact can really only be minimized by strong shooting from the Spurs and Tony Parker creating plays.

Tim Duncan looked better tonight than in the first two games of the series. However, there still isn't a fire in his eyes like there was against Phoenix, and I'm simply not buying the illness holding on this long. Duncan even said before tonight's game that he was feeling 100% better, but to me he still looked like he had no emotion. I know Duncan's lack of emotion is as expected as Joey Chestnut or Takeru Kobayashi's lack of appetite on July 5, but in Phoenix he was the leader of his team, and so far against New Orleans he has been a role playing with little fire.

For the Spurs to win the series, even with some momentum from tonight's win, they're going to have to keep hitting big threes. Right now New Orleans is giving them the open looks as they double up Duncan, but quicker rotations in game 4 could be all the Hornets need to slow the Spurs offense. The Spurs remind me of this year's Duke Blue Devils team where eventually the threes won't go in and the team will crumble. Maybe Ginobili, Parker and Finley will keep connecting, but without a strong interior presence, they don't have the luxury of many off nights.

Watching Chris Paul and Tony Parker go toe-to-toe tonight (Paul 35 pts, 9 assists; Parker 31 pts, 11 assists) was truly exciting to watch and gave me renewed hope in the NBA and reminded me how special this year's playoffs are to watch.

Even Kobe Bryant can't deny that Chris Paul looked like the MVP tonight