As far as I can tell, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili only scored 30 points in the same game twice.<\/p>\n
I remember both instances well.<\/p>\n
The first came during the clinching Game 6 win against the Phoenix Suns in the 2007 Western Conference Semifinals, a critical home win with the series potentially going back to Phoenix for a deciding Game 7.<\/p>\n
The second came the following year, in Game 3 of another hotly contested Western Conference Semifinal against the Chris Paul-era Hornets (now Pelicans), in a series that did go seven games.<\/p>\n
Parker and Ginobili were 24 and 29 respectively in the 2007 postseason \u2014 25 and 30 the following year.<\/p>\n
And last night, at the tender ages of 21 and 20, Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper not only came within a three-pointer of duplicating that feat, but they also nearly became the youngest pair of Spurs to score 30 points in a postseason game, period.<\/p>\n
On the one hand, it\u2019s almost shocking to find that Tony and Manu only combined to score 30 points together twice in all the years they played together.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, it\u2019s absolutely crazy to think of Castle and Harper following in their footsteps when only one of the two can even legally buy an alcoholic beverage.<\/p>\n
Crazier still to consider that they performed the way they did in the absence of San Antonio\u2019s franchise player.<\/p>\n
That the fledgling duo effectively carried the Spurs in the fourth quarter of a dark postseason hour left me sitting there in shock at what I\u2019d just witnessed.<\/p>\n
With 5:09 left in the 3rd quarter, the Spurs were down 65-80, and ESPN had Portland\u2019s chance of winning at 91.4%, their highest percentile of the game. Things looked grim. I had long ceased my pacing over the officiating, and that propulsive agitation had largely left me.<\/p>\n
I was sitting in my brother\u2019s most comfortable chair, engaged in conversation about Wemby\u2019s concussion, discussing how Game 4 might go, brainstorming what I could even write about on a night that had felt deflating.<\/p>\n
The Spurs were flailing. They couldn\u2019t seem to stifle Portland\u2019s guard duo of Scoot Henderson and the well-heeled Jrue Holliday. The offense that had worked so well against most teams in the absence of Victor Wembanyama just couldn\u2019t find that extra gear.<\/p>\n
Possessions looked stagnant as Portland\u2019s game plan to minimize De\u2019Aaron Fox\u2019s effectiveness (and an unusually early four fouls) had San Antonio\u2019s 2nd leading scorer of the regular season looking overly careful as ball movement stalled along with him.<\/p>\n
Twitter was awash with tweets crashing out about both Fox and the team at large, so I closed it out and started thinking ahead, as my brothers asked about San Antonio\u2019s chances for the rest of the series.<\/p>\n
Caught up in conversation, I almost missed Dylan Harper blocking the snot out of 17-foot driving jump-shot, and then following it up with a clutch three-pointer about 30 seconds later.<\/p>\n