Sports

Prideful Spurs can bounce back from brutal Game 6 loss

MIAMI — Former Knicks coach and ABC analyst Jeff Van Gundy said yesterday fans should focus on the Spurs in the first quarter of tonight’s Game 7 to see if Gregg Popovich’s team has a “hangover’’ from Tuesday’s heartbreaker.

Wouldn’t worry too much, Jeff. Instead of running around South Beach in the wee hours, the Spurs staged a team dinner at the hotel after Game 6’s crushing 103-100 overtime loss. It was so late you might want to call it a breakfast.

Either way, the Spurs appear to have shaken it off.

“When the ball goes up we’ll all be ready,’’ said Tim Duncan, who entered the interview room with two big bags of ice on each knee.

“It helped,’’ said Duncan of dinner. “The other option is a bunch of us go back to our rooms and sit in our rooms by ourselves and beat yourself up. It’s always good to be around teammates and get some stuff out in the open. We did exactly that. We’ll be ready to rock.’’

The Spurs are five-point underdogs but I would rather have Popovich’s group than any other to respond from this killer night. They were 28.2 seconds from a fifth championship, armed with a fat 95-90 lead before they were burned by two bad bounces that became Heat offensive rebounds.

“We just have to be positive and forget Game 6,’’ Tony Parker said. “If you told me before the season that we’ll be 3-3 in the Finals against Miami, I think everybody on the team will sign up for it.’’

“It was a great dinner,’’ Parker said. “We shared histories. It definitely helped because obviously everybody in the locker room was very disappointed.’’

Duncan looked like he was getting one for the thumb, played the first half like it was 1999 against Van Gundy’s Knicks or 2003 against the Nets in the NBA Finals.

Duncan, Parker and Manu Ginobili have won three titles together, winning a Game 7 once in 2005 over Larry Brown’s Pistons. That was at home, but this would be more special. “Our core guys have been though a lot together,’’ Duncan said. “The young guys are going to feed off what we do.’’

Duncan poured in 25 points by half, displaying every low-post move in his arsenal. Duncan had 30 after three quarters before going scoreless the rest of the way and was out of gas.

“Hopefully I can sustain a little better,’’ Duncan said.

Ginobili had eight turnovers and can’t play any worse. The Heat committed to smothering Danny Green at the 3-point line. The Long Islander hit just one 3-pointer.

Parker talked to his teammates at the dinner of the 2005 European Championships after they blew a seven-point lead to Greece in the final 35 seconds. France responded a night later to win the bronze.

Tonight is more than the bronze. But I would never bet against these prideful guys.