After surrendering a 12 point advantage in the fourth quarter the Spurs showed the Kings why they are the defending champs.  Sparked by consecutive layups from Bruce Bowen and Tim Duncan, the Spurs rattled off a 16-5 run in the closing minutes of the game to take a 109-98 victory and move within one win of a second round matchup with the Dallas Mavericks. 

San Antonio's biggest problem was that someone forgot to tell Bonzi Wells and Ron Artest that the Spurs have been virtually unbeatable at home this season.  The two combined for 62 of the Kings 98 points making it very clear to  San Antonio that they weren't going to go down without a fight.

The big three for the Spurs all stepped up for the first time in the series.  Manu led the way with 27, while Tim chipped in 24 and Parker 21.  On the other side Bonzi Wells was playing completely out of his mind dropping 38 and creating defensive problems for the Spurs all night.  Not even the Spurs' star defender and defensive player of the year candidate Bruce Bowen could seem to find an answer for Wells.  Even when Wells seemingly tapered off in the 4th quarter Ron Artest was there to pick up the slack.  

Although the Spurs took away a double digit victory that was in no way a measure of how close the game really was.  The Kings, who trailed by only 2 with less than 2 minutes to play, were not able to get it done down the stretch.  Pop and his playoff-seasoned squad gave the much younger and far more inexperienced Kings team a lesson in how to win games in the clutch.  Ginobili and Michael Finley combined to sink 8 of 8 freethrows in the final minute sealing the victory for San Antonio.

The difference in experience was no more evident than in the closing minutes.  While the Spurs remained calm and collected under the pressure the Kings suffered a defensive lapse in the final two minutes which proved to be the difference maker.  The Spurs made it clear that they didn't win three titles in the last seven years for no reason.  The Kings, however, showed that they are still not on the level of a team like San Antonio.

Kings fans shouldn't be too worried.  With the home team winning every game so far in this series Sacramento obviously has a distinct advantage going into game 6.  The question will be whether or not the Kings will step up when the pressure is on in an elimination game or  fold as they did in the final minutes of game 5.  The Spurs will undoubtedly approach game 6 with a "business as usual" attitude.  Whether the Kings can step up to the challenge remains to be seen.