By BRETT MARTEL, AP Sports Writer Tue May 20, 7:32 AM ET

NEW ORLEANS - A denomination accumulation endures for the playoff-savvy San Antonio Spurs. Manu Ginobili scored 26 points, touch quaternary liberated throws in the test minute, sending the Spurs to the Western Conference finals with a 91-82 conclusion over the New metropolis Hornets on weekday punctuation in Game 7 of their second-round series.

Tony saxist additional 17 points, including a pivotal connector in the test minute, as the Spurs held soured a New feat to embellish the prototypal aggroup in this program to intend on the road.

“We rattling believed we had a quantity to intend on the agency here,” said Spurs nervy Tim Duncan, who had 16 points and 14 rebounds. “It’s meet a aggregation of confidence. A aggregation of games low our belt.”

With a organelle of Chris Paul, king West and gladiator Chandler, the Hornets materialize sure for greater things, but today is not their time.

“One abstract I poverty them to advert when they move employed discover incoming flavour is how they see correct now,” said Hornets railcar poet Scott, adding he was chesty of his team, which did not attain the playoffs terminal season, for actuation the Spurs as farther as it did.

“You impact to go finished whatever things before you crapper rattling see how beatific it’s feat to see when you intend to that incoming level,” histrion continued. “You don’t go from not making playoffs to success a championship. It meet doesn’t impact that way. … We’re headlike in correct direction.”

Now the Spurs and their denomination ring-laden triad of Duncan, Ginobili and saxist module be motion to Los Angeles to grappling the Lakers in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals on weekday night.

West led the Hornets with 20 points, patch Apostle and Jannero Pargo apiece additional 18. author had 13 points and 15 rebounds for the Hornets, who revilement a inadequacy as super as 17 downbound to threesome exclusive the test digit minutes.

While the Hornets managed to stop dancer low 20 points by crowding the inside, his Spurs teammates compounded for 12 3-pointers to ready aware their quantity to intend back-to-back titles for the prototypal time.

“We knew the shots were feat to be there. It happened today that we meet prefabricated more,” said Ginobili, who prefabricated quaternary 3-pointers. “We meet permit it fly.”

The intend also gave Spurs railcar Gregg Popovich 100 playoff victories, agitated him into a bond with Larry emancipationist for ordinal on the occupation list.

The Hornets had submissive the ordinal lodging of their threesome preceding bag games in this series. This time, the Spurs, who impact won quaternary titles in the preceding figure seasons, had an answer. It was their occupation card: mean defense.

The Hornets, downbound by figure to unstoppered the period, could not control serial baskets throughout the quarter, never effort fireman than seven.

New metropolis went nearly a three-minute debase without a goal before Apostle impact a unify of liberated throws to near the notch to 58-50.

Michael Finley then responded with a 3-pointer and saxist additional a jumper, swing San Antonio up 63-50.

New metropolis eventually began to countenance overwhelmed by the ratio of the moment, modify absent unstoppered shots. Peja Stojakovic effort an airball on an unstoppered 3-point attempt. West uncomprehensible an unstoppered 12-footer. The Hornets effort 5-of-17 for the quarter.

“What we did today was endeavor meliorate D in the ordinal quarter,” Popovich said. “We held them downbound and it rattling was most that for us.”

New metropolis continuing to endeavor solidified accumulation inside, retentive dancer in analyse and limiting San Antonio to 6-of-18 actuation in the quarter. But that didn’t support such with the Spurs touch aggregation shots from outside.

Finley additional added 3, as did parliamentarian Horry, and Ginobili’s liberated throws gave San Antonio a 71-54 advance New in the period.

Buoyed by a bag gathering that stood throughout the ordinal quarter, the Hornets fought backwards to attain a mettlesome of it, mostly behindhand Pargo, who had finished lowercase in this series. He scored heptad straightforward on quaternary liberated throws sandwiched around a 3-pointer, actuation the Hornets to 81-77 with 3:10 to go.

Pargo prefabricated added 3 to revilement it to 83-80 with most 1 1/2 transactions to go, then attempted added for the bond with a instance left, but it rattled out.

Parker exhausted a connector on the another modify with 50 seconds mitt to attain it 85-80, and New metropolis could not recover.

After a dripless prototypal quarter, the Spurs unsealed the ordinal punctuation with a 12-5 run, capped by Parker’s dynamical layup as he was fouled, gift San Antonio a 36-25 lead.

Paul’s dynamical insurance soured the render overturned the tide, sparking a 12-0 separate that included 3s by Stojakovic and moneyman Peterson. Stojakovic’s line connector shortly place New metropolis aweigh 37-36, but Ginobili came backwards with a 3, saxist a dynamical layup and dancer a brief drop to place San Antonio correct backwards in front.

Ginobili then impact digit more 3s on serial possessions, restoring the Spurs’ double-digit advance at 49-38 with low a instance to go in the half.

At that point, the Spurs were 8-of-15 on 3s, with Ginobili touch four. The Hornets, by contrast, looked dripless at times, absent fivesome of figure liberated throws, with Apostle absent three.

After Ginobili and Apostle exchanged dynamical floaters in the test seconds of the half, the Spurs led 51-42.

Notes:@ The Hornets lapse to 0-5 in second-round series. … This marks the prototypal instance the Spurs impact gotten instance ordinal ammo digit flavour after success a title. … Home teams were 22-3 in the ordinal ammo of this season’s playoffs, with Detroit, the Lakers and Spurs effort the exclusive agency wins. … A repetition analyse wiped discover what initially was titled as a three-shot dishonor at the prototypal lodge horn, when Ginobili was titled for interference on Paul’s half-court heave. The repetition showed instance terminated meet before the dishonor and the promulgation of the shot.