San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili sank a wide-open three-pointer in the waning seconds of Game 1 to give his team a 129-127 win against the Golden State Warriors.
It took two overtimes for Game 1 to be decided.
Warriors' guard Stephen Curry, the seventh overall pick of the 2009 draft, turned in an All-Star performance with 44 points and 11 assists, but even that wasn't enough to stifle the resilient Spurs.
San Antonio, down 16 points with four minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, went on an 18-2 run to force the first overtime. Ginobili's clutch 3-pointer with 1.2 seconds left in the second overtime finally put the Spurs on top for good.
"It's only the second one I made all day. Good timing, though," Ginobili said, according to the Associated Press.
When asked how the Spurs were able to rally for the late-game victory, Ginobili didn't have an answer.
"I have no clue. I really got to watch it to see what happened," he said. "They started missing shots. Steph was unbelievable in the third quarter."
Curry scored 22 of his 44 points in the third quarter.
The answer for Curry's scoring onslaught appeared to be six-foot-seven swingman Kawhi Leonard. Curry scored just six points when the Spurs put Leonard on him in the fourth quarter.
Tony Parker had 28 points, eight assists and eight rebounds. Tim Duncan, sick with a stomach bug, managed to record a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Ginobili tallied 16 points and 11 assists.
Golden State's Harrison Barnes and Klay Thompson both chipped in with 19 points each, and Jarrett Jack added 15 points.
Game 2 between San Antonio and Golden State is Wednesday at 9:30 p.m. ET on TNT.
