SAN ANTONIO, June 9 (UPI) -- Manu Ginobili sparked a fourth-quarter surge Thursday night that gave San Antonio an 84-69 win over Detroit to open the NBA Finals.
The Spurs fell behind by 14 in the first half, but trailed by just two at intermission. The contest was up for grabs early in the fourth when Ginobili ignited the deciding stretch.
Detroit trailed by only three with 10:23 to play when the Pistons' Ben Wallace picked up a technical foul.
Ginobili made the technical free throw and over the next 2:44, San Antonio outscored Detroit, 12-2. Ginobili made eight of those 12 points and capped the run with a three-point play.
The second game of the best-of-seven series will be played in San Antonio Sunday night.
San Antonio opened a 16-point advantage in the final period only to see San Antonio cut it to seven. Ginobili then made a dunk and a three-pointer to increase the lead to 12.
After scoring only four points in the first half, Ginobili made nine of 10 shots from the field in the second. He scored 26 points and Tim Duncan had 24. Detroit was led by Chauncey Billups with 25.
