The San Antonio Spurs can make it to the conference finals for the second straight year with a Game 6 win on Thursday over the Golden State Warriors.
Stephen Curry and the Warriors will be fighting for their playoff lives at the Oracle Arena in Oakland. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich knows clinching the series won't be an easy task with Golden State's back against the wall.
"Nobody talks about getting this over with like you've got a rash," Popovich said. "Like you can take a pill or put some cream on it, it's going to be gone. This is a war. They're a class team. They bust their (butts) at both ends of the floor. It's not about getting rid of anything. It's about going and playing and that's about it."
San Antonio came away with a 109-91 win in Game 5 partly because of their ability to limit Curry and Klay Thompson to a combined 13 points on 6-of-22 shooting. The Spurs have shut down Thompson after his 34-point performance in Game 2, and Curry has been hobbled by a recent ankle injury.
With their two backcourt players stymied as of late by San Antonio's Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green, the rest of the Golden State team knows they must turn in solid performances to force a Game 7. They're not intimidated, either.
"We're never going to quit. We're never going to die. We've got a lot of fight left. This isn't the end," Warriors forward Carl Landry said. "Actually, we're excited about having the opportunity to play in a Game 6. Everybody in that locker room is excited and ready."
Game 6 tipoff is at 10:30 p.m. ET on ESPN. You can watch it live HERE.
