San Antonio Spurs shooting guard Manu Ginobili turned a lot of heads following his vintage performance in Game 5 of his team's Western Conference Semifinals matchup against the Houston Rockets.
Despite only finishing with 12 points, seven rebounds and five assists, the 39-year-old Argentinian international made timely baskets for his team and sealed their victory with a block on James Harden‘s three-point attempt to send the game to a second overtime period.
Head coach Gregg Popovich had nothing but praise for the veteran guard after the game. He even called Ginobili a “stud” and gave him a lot of credit for making huge plays for the Spurs throughout the match, via Michael C. Wright of ESPN.
“Manu reached back and gave us one of his Manu performances from past years. He was a stud. We actually went to him with Kawhi [Leonard] off the court [due to an ankle injury]. We went to him to generate some offense, and make some things happen. He did a good job, whether it was distributing or scoring. He was big for us.”
Even after Kawhi Leonard vowing to play in Game 6 despite dealing with an ankle injury, he may not be 100 percent and the team will need Ginobili once again to step up his game. With Tony Parker injured and out for the rest of the playoffs, Ginobili can be an additional playmaker for the Spurs, and also bring a lot of veteran confidence to the table.
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