By: Staff Writer - StatFox
Published: 5/14/2008 at 7:16:00 PM

Just as Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs appeared to be hitting their stride and gaining momentum for a berth in the Western Conference finals, they are down again, their march toward consecutive NBA titles very much in doubt. The defending champions face elimination at the hands of the upstart New Orleans Hornets, who have a 3-2 lead in the conference semifinals, when they play Game 6 on Thursday. "The best opportunity for us is really tomorrow (Thursday). We've got to look at it that way," Hornets coach Byron Scott said. "We've got a chance to close out the defending champions. Obviously we know it's going to be a very, very tough game to do that, especially in San Antonio."

After starting the series in a 0-2 hole against Chris Paul and the Hornets, the Spurs stormed back with home wins in Games 3 and 4. In Game 4 in particular, they were difficult to counter on either end of the court. Duncan had his best game of the series and the San Antonio showed why were 31-12 ATS in home games versus good shooting teams, converting 46 percent or more of their shots over the last two seasons.

Paul insisted after each game in San Antonio that it was not time for his team to panic, but the Spurs seemed to be picking up speed and getting ready to send the youthful Hornets home to try again next year. Now, after a decisive Game 5 loss Tuesday night in New Orleans, the Spurs are the ones who may be panicking, though their veteran status and deep playoff experience are just the kind of assets that could keep them cool and confident in Game 6. It also helps to be 15-3-2 ATS as playoff favorites.

"The bottom line is that the better team wins in a seven-game series," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "I've always said that. So whoever wins the series it will be because they're the better team." The Spurs took the day off Wednesday and will arrive at AT&T Arena with 27-10 ATS record in home games after a blowout loss by 15 points or more.

The Hornets talked about how to maintain the energy they get from their home crowd while playing on the road in hostile territory. "That's something we're going to talk about probably all day and before the game tomorrow," Paul said. "When you make shots and stuff like that, it helps a lot, but we just got to find some way somehow." Paul helped in Game 5, but it was David West who carried the Hornets to victory with career playoff highs of 38 points, 14 rebounds and five blocked shots.

So far, homecourt teams have been all-but unstoppable in the conference semifinals with 19-1 record and 14-5-1 spread record. Neither the Hornets nor Spurs has lost at home this postseason. That bodes well for the Spurs to take Game 6, but it also makes it look good for the Hornets to claim the winner-take-all Game 7 in New Orleans, if necessary.

The Hornets said they're not relying on home court for the series win. "We can't relax and say, 'All right, we'll wait to beat them when we come back here,"' Paul said. "We need to win tomorrow (Thursday)."

Both teams have been dominant at home, despite the closeness of the series. Every game has been won by double digits and easy covers, with the biggest margin being the Hornets' 101-79 Game 5 win. San Antonio is 19-8 ATS in home games revenging a road loss vs opponent.

West and New Orleans center Tyson Chandler are the only question marks for Thursday. West was playing with a back injury and Chandler has a bruised left foot. Scott said he expects both to play. "I don't know if they'll both be 100 percent but I think they'll definitely be ready to play the game," Scott said. "Both of them understand the importance of this game, having a chance to close out a great team like this, so again we want to try to seize that opportunity." New Orleans will need to apply more defensive pressure and is 20-5 ATS after three straight games forcing opponent to commit 14 or less turnovers.

San Antonio has never been able to get back-to-back titles. In each of the Spurs' last three title defenses following the 1999, 2003 and 2005 seasons; they were eliminated in the conference semifinals or earlier. A repeat this year would give them five titles in 10 seasons and secure their place among NBA dynasties, if they haven't already. But they'll first have to get by the Hornets, an increasingly difficult task against a team that hopes to eliminate the champs and carry their own historic season into the conference finals. "We know their backs are against the wall and they're going to come at us with everything they got," Scott said.

Oddsmakers at Bookmaker.com have the Spurs as 7.5-point favorites with Total at 184, where it has been since first posted. San Antonio is 20-8-1 ATS in playoff games as a favorite of 5-10.5 points. Conversely, New Orleans is only 1-7 against the spread as a road underdog in same exact point range.

Keep a close eye on the Total, as eight of last 11 meetings in San Antonio have gone OVER the number. The Spurs are 8-4-1 OVER in last dozen contests, with the Hornets 15-5 OVER after allowing 80 points or less.

When a prideful team like San Antonio has bad shooting game, making less than 40 percent of shots, it would be easy to surmise they bounce right back. In fact, the Spurs are just 4-7-1 ATS in next game this season. ESPN will have this West semifinal, starting at 9 Eastern.

StatFox Power Line –New Orleans by 1

AP Sports Writer Brett Martel in New Orleans contributed to this article.