



SAN ANTONIO – The news arrived at Gregg Popovich's doorstep in the dead of another brutal South Texas summer. The San Antonio Spurs had been bounced out of the first round of the playoffs by the Memphis Grizzlies, Tony Parker had headed home to France to start his vacation, and suddenly there was a report coming across the Atlantic that the Spurs' point guard was proclaiming their dynasty days officially over. Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili were getting old, Parker said.

"We will always have a good team," the French media reported Parker as saying, "but we can no longer say that we're playing for a championship."

Naturally, this didn't play well at 21 Spurs Lane. "I thought the same thing Pop said," Ginobili recalled. " 'Shut up!' "

Ginobili says this with a laugh. Parker quickly denied the report, saying his true comments had been lost in translation, and, besides, who cares now? All that matters is what Parker did next: When the NBA lockout ended, he arrived more committed, more focused, more driven, than ever.

Parker has carried the Spurs through this magical season and he carried them again Tuesday night. His 34 points and eight assists came amid a dazzling display of shot-making that staggered the Oklahoma City Thunder and delivered the Spurs their 20th consecutive victory and a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference finals. For much of the 120-111 victory, he ran the Spurs' offense to near-perfection as San Antonio carved up the Thunder with quick, crisp passing.

"When you have Coach Pop screaming at you every day," Parker said, "it will make you pass the ball."

Parker didn't arrive here overnight. He's weathered Popovich's scolding for years and emerged stronger for it. The tug-of-war between point guard and coach has played out over the seasons, and the growing pains Parker and Popovich endured are not unlike those that now test the Thunder's Russell Westbrook and Scott Brooks.

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Oklahoma City's point guard and coach are forever on trial, and they will be judged by how this season ends. Heading home for the next two games, the Thunder can still make this a series. If they don't? If they fall in these West finals the way they fell in last year's when the Dallas Mavericks beat them in five games, then the Thunder will ask themselves how much progress they've made.

For Brooks, his negotiating leverage is dictated by each win and loss in these playoffs. His contract ends after this season, and his representative and the team have yet to find a middle ground on a new deal. If the Thunder lose this series, team officials will have to decide how much money and time to commit to Brooks while waiting to learn whether he's capable of guiding them to a championship.

The Thunder have few reservations about Westbrook. He played a strong game, totaling 27 points, eight assists and seven rebounds without a single turnover. He hounded Parker as best he could, crowding him despite the Spurs running him through screen after screen. And yet with each loss the Thunder suffer, Westbrook's performance is often measured by his shot count (24) compared to that of Kevin Durant (17). If the Thunder win, he's praised for his aggressiveness. If they lose, critics often blame his selfishness.

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