Spurs Defeat Nuggetts in Game 5 and Move to Round 2

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SAN ANTONIO (AP) - Michael Finley decided he had to calm down and stop putting so much heat on himself.

Then the shots started falling.

“Every game at the start of the season I wanted to play the perfect game,” Finley said. “Make every shot, be the perfect player. When you do that you make a lot of mistakes and you put a lot of pressure on yourself.

“Coach told me to ‘Just go out there and play. Let the game come to you. Stop putting so much added pressure on yourself,”‘ Finley said. “And I’ve been doing that as of late, and it seemed to work.”

It certainly worked Wednesday night, when Finley hit a franchise playoff-record eight 3-pointers in Game 5 against the Denver Nuggets to help San Antonio advance. He finished with 26 points and was 8-for-9 from beyond the arc.

The 12-year NBA veteran said he had reason to press early on in the season. They’d lost to Dallas, where Finley spent nearly nine full seasons, last year in the Western Conference semifinals.

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