Whoa. This is a biggie, huh?

I guess the conventional wisdom is that the home team will win, right? That's how this series has gone.

But is it ever conventional wisdom to pick against Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker and the San Antonio Spurs?

First Quarter

• Five words Gregg Popovich hates to hear: "Bruce Bowen off the dribble."
• I think it's something of a victory for New Orleans that Peja Stojakovic has already hit a shot. At least he's not in the deep freeze. And David West is moving pretty well.
• Tim Duncan is looking like an alpha dog in the early going -- except for the moment when Chris Paul picked his pocket. Twice.
• We're about six minutes into a physical game, and we've had one total foul, on Morris Peterson. I'd say they're letting them play. Hard to know who that favors. It helps New Orleans, a team that is desperate to keep Tyson Chandler on the floor. But it also helps the Spurs, who know jujitsu.
• The official theme song of the playing surface in New Orleans.
• Not sure if you read my post about the trouble Chris Paul has closing out three-point shooters on defense. It has been evident twice already, as Manu Ginobili and Ime Udoka have both nailed threes with Paul struggling to get a hand in their faces.
• This end of quarter foul situation is absolutely bizarre. You'd think Manu Ginobili would have the veteran poise to stay away. But I sympathize with the urge to hinder even that shot, and Paul was sure aggressive in creating the contact.

• Bonzi Wells needs to get his game face on. I just knew he would blow that foolish dipsy-doodle. And then to compound the error by taking five seconds of game time for his own person pity party. Not Game 7 mentality. They could have had Bobby Jackson coming off that bench, too, which surely would have been better.
• I just spent some quality time with the slow-motion feature of Tivo, and I think it's entirely possible, maybe even likely, that the referees were in fact correct that Manu Ginobili's foul on Chris Paul was after the light came on the backboard. Possibly a good call, even though when I first saw it I thought the contact was clearly pre-buzzer. Also, the more you watch it, the more it looks like Paul throwing his body into Manu Ginobili.
• The NBA had slightly lower attendance than last year this season, and two teams were really the story: the Pacers and the Hornets. Those two teams had attendance low enough to negate increased attendance in many other cities. For the Hornets, things picked up in the latter part of the season. But now that you see this -- a big loud arena for Game 7 against the Spurs -- it's amazing to think that this was, not long ago, one of the league's great empty arenas.
• Tyson Chandler still has zero fouls. That'll be big in the second half. Duncan only has one. Morris Peterson, Jannero Pargo, Bonzi Wells and Bruce Bowen each have two.
• Manu Ginobili eats Game 7s for breakfast.
• At the end of the half, the shot clock had more time on it than the game clock, I believe, which happens sometimes.
• As the Spurs got the ball with about 24 seconds left in the first half, they ended up giving up two points to Manu Ginobili, and then having about four seconds to score themselves. Consider what Gregg Popovich would have done if he coached the Hornets: Foul the worst foul-shooter on the opposing team with much more time left. They get likely one point, and you get a lot more time with the ball for that last shot. You also eliminate a buzzer-beater which would keep you from even getting the ball again at all.
• As far as the boxscore can explain, the Spurs won the first half based on wicked shooting from downtown, 8-15, with Ginobili 4-7. That pace is unlikely to linger, and hot shooting is one of the most mercurial kinds of leads to have. However, the other massive factor is that the Spurs are 28-18 ahead in the battle for the boards. The Hornets have eight steals! Each team has been credited with just one block. (I swear there was one play where Manu got his shot blocked twice.) Also, in terms of +/-, Rbert Horry is the only Spur in the red, at -2. Jannero Pargo is the laggard, at -11. Mo Pete is the only Hornet in the black, he's +2.

• Tyson Chandler certainly didn't take long to start using his fouls here in the second half.
• This crowd. They are not helping the home team like they could. They will start believing again, I guess, when the Hornets get within, what, five? Four?
• Memo to Morris Peterson: Dunk. That.
• This sure is not one of those third quarters when the home team comes out on fire.
• Did you notice how Tim Duncan reacted when he hit Tyson Chandler in the face? He put his arm around his shoulder, and spent a long time checking on him. He's a classy dude. He's surely no softie. He's a warrior. But he should be commended for showing you can still be a good human. I salute that, and so does David Thorpe who emailed me to point that whole thing out.
• What is each team's field goal percentage in the third quarter? Miserable. I'd guess.
• Chris Paul initiates contact as often as any other player in the NBA.
• Good crowds give their team energy. This crowd is waiting for the team to give them energy. That's too bad. Stand up, New Orleans. Get loud. Get crazy. It's time.

Fourth Quarter

• Spurs lead is 15 with one quarter left. Total points the Hornets scored in the third quarter: 14.
• Tyson Chandler makes just about every lob look good.
• Oh, now Jannero Pargo can hit shots?
• No Julian Wright tonight.
• Chris Paul has yet to take a break. Wonder if he's young enough to play 48 without slowing down. Probably. But if he slows down a little in the next few minutes, don't wonder why. Tony Parker has had a little more than three minutes' rest, which is probably five or ten minutes of actual rest time. Makes a difference. That said, Paul looks plenty fresh to me.
• Ime Udoka is having a fantastic game. Very happy for him.
• Wow. At what point did we sign up for the Jannero Pargo show? The Hornets would do well to get the ball to David West.
• You know how the idea is that you put the pressure on the Spurs by making it close? Do the Spurs really dislike pressure like that? You also risk turning on Manu Ginobili's shooting stroke that seems to revel in big moments.
• When Pargo hit that 3, did you hear the noise that the crowd made? That's how 20,000 people expressing relief.
• Remember what I was saying about how having a lead to go with a great shooting percentage is a shaky situation? My point was really that shooting percentages are more volatile than some other stats. And exhibit A is that the Hornets are now shooting a higher percentage, for the game, than the Spurs for the game, although the Spurs are still hotter from downtown.
• Ok, really, it's time to stop having Jannero Pargo decide the season. Scratch that. Nice 3, Jannero!
• The other thing I found, when I examined Chris Paul's defense, was that he is pretty terrible getting around screens. And thus Tony Parker got his big look to put the Spurs up five with 50 seconds left.
• Wow, they're already showing the off-season picture for the Hornets. One thing that stands out: Ooh, unrestricted free agent Bonzi Wells. He could have hardly been less impressive in this series. What's going on there?
• Hats off to the Spurs. This was an extremely tough series, and they stayed poised throughout. Tim Duncan is legendary. Tony Parker is a handful, and Many Ginobili brings the fire. Couple that with a total lack of coaching errors, and tonight a bench that pushed the right buttons. I have so much respect for that team. The champs, let it be noted in Los Angeles, die hard.
• Talk about a close series. Together with TrueHoop reader William, I think I have figured out correctly that the total score for the series was Spurs 645, Hornets 644. UPDATE: My calculator is apparently no good, and the truth is this series was much closer than that. The final tally for the series was all even: 645-645.