OAKLAND, Calif. -- Slow at the start of the series and strong at the end, the San Antonio Spurs wore out the Golden State Warriors the way they have so many other opponents. Tim Duncan had 19 points and six rebounds, Kawhi Leonard added 16 points and 10 rebounds and the Spurs held off a furious final rally to beat the Warriors 94-82 in Game 6 on Thursday night and advance to the Western Conference finals. "Theyve got great character. Theyre competitive. They know theres not a million chances to do this sort of thing. They wanted it," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. Tony Parker shook off a poor start to score 10 of his 13 points in the fourth quarter and Tiago Splitter added a career-playoff high 14 points for San Antonio, which had a 13-point lead in the third quarter dissolve to two in the final minutes. Stephen Curry shot 10 of 25 from the floor to score 22 points on a nagging left ankle, and Jarrett Jack had 15 points as the injury-saddled Warriors finally tired. The Spurs outshot Golden State 45 per cent to 39 per cent and outrebounded them 46 to 40. Second-seeded San Antonio will open the conference finals at home against Memphis on Sunday. The fifth-seeded Grizzlies eliminated Oklahoma City in five games. The Spurs lost to the Thunder in the conference finals in six games last season after going ahead 2-0. They havent been to the NBA Finals since 2007, when they won their fourth title with a sweep of LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Spurs became the first team to win consecutive games in the series and hand the Warriors consecutive losses in the playoffs -- and they did it at just the right time. The Spurs quieted a standing-room-only crowd late in the third quarter and seemingly seized control for good. Instead, the Warriors roared back. Klay Thompson, who had 10 points on 4-for-12 shooting, made a 3-pointer early in the fourth quarter that sliced San Antonios lead to three. Then Currys pull-up jumper brought the Warriors within 77-75 with 4:52 to play. Parker was 1 for 13 before hitting a corner 3-pointer before Leonard followed with two free throws to put the Spurs up seven. Jack made a jumper and two free throws to bring the Warriors back again. Then Leonard hit another corner 3-pointer for the Spurs to go ahead 85-79. Curry and Thompson each had consecutive 3s rim out on the same possession that couldve kept Golden State close. But Parker hit another 3-pointer to put San Antonio up 88-79 with 1:15 remaining and send some of the yellow-shirted crowd of 19,596 heading to the exits. In the end, most still stuck around. Fans serenaded the home team with chants of "Warr-i-ors!" in the final seconds. Curry also grabbed the microphone after the game and thanked fans at half court, breaking the huddle with the crowd, "Just us!" The Warriors had only made the playoffs once since 1994 before this season and hadnt won two games after the first round since 1977. "Its inspiring to think of what we were able to accomplish this year and the foundation that has been laid," Warriors coach Mark Jackson said. The Spurs showed incredible ball movement and had the Warriors playing from behind most of the way. San Antonios first 10 field goals came on an assist, going ahead by 10 points in the second quarter and maintaining that cushion until late. Golden State stayed close despite more injury setbacks in a season full of them. Andrew Bogut walked gingerly to the locker room with 8:31 remaining in the second quarter to get his troublesome left ankle re-tapped. Upstart rookie Harrison Barnes fell awkwardly while leaping to contest a layup in the second quarter from Boris Diaw. Barnes hit the court hard and his teammates immediately called for the training staff to attend to him as the arena fell silent. He received six stitches above his right eye at halftime and ran on the court late to start the third quarter, bringing fans to their feet roaring once more. At least for a moment. Barnes left the game in the fourth quarter because of a headache, the team said. He finished with nine points and four rebounds in 31 minutes. The steady Spurs kept making the Warriors work for every shot and grinding out points on the other end. San Antonio took a 61-48 lead late in the third quarter before Golden State started its final surge. The Spurs made sure it wasnt enough. NOTES: NBA Commissioner David Stern, Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson and prospective Kings owner Vivek Ranadive attended the game. ... The Spurs are 10-1 in closeout games since the start of the 2007 playoffs. ... Parkers worst shooting performance in the playoffs with more than five shot attempts came when he was 1 of 12 against New Jersey in the 2003 NBA Finals won by the Spurs. ... The Warriors fell to 4-1 after a loss in the playoffs.Nike Zoom Online Shop . Denis Coderre, the former federal MP who was elected mayor on Nov. 3, has drawn the ire of some Montreal Canadiens. During last nights game he tweeted: "Hello? Can we get a one-way ticket to (minor-league) Hamilton for David Desharnais please. Nike Zoom Discount . And when it opened, every player was at his stall. Thats a sure sign that a team is in a slump and is searching for answers. "Its embarrassing to be at home and play the way we did," said defenceman Josh Gorges. http://www.cheapnikezoom.us/ . -- The plastic that was taped across the lockers in Oaklands clubhouse came down and the champagne that was on ice went back into the cooler. Cheap Nike Zoom Shoes . Shot outdoors against the stunning backdrop of Banff, Alta., the networks 30-minute original production airs tonight at 8pm et/5pm pt on TSN2. The four All-Star teams will play for $100,000 in prize money during TSNs annual skins game, airing live this weekend on TSN from The Fenlands Banff Recreation Centre. Nike Zoom Sale USA . Defencemen Drew Doughty, Shea Weber and forward Ryan Getzlaf also scored for the Canadians, who started their gold-medal defence 2-0. Goalie Roberto Luongo, getting the call in place of Game 1 starter Carey Price, was solid when needed in making 23 saves for the shutout.ATLANTA -- A month ago, the Atlanta Braves were wondering what to do with all their starting pitchers. Now theyre wondering whos going to start.Three players who were in the starting rotation last month are on the disabled list. Mike Foltynewicz (right elbow soreness), Williams Perez (right rotator cuff soreness) and John Gant (left oblique) are all on the sidelines.When you add the demotion of Aaron Blair, who was sent to Triple-A Gwinnett on Sunday, there are plenty of holes to be filled in the Atlanta rotation.As a result, the Braves will start Joel De La Cruz in Wednesdays series finale against Cleveland against right-hander Danny Salazar (8-3, 2.23).De La Cruz will be making his major league debut. He was signed as a minor league free agent in November and has spent all season with Triple-A Gwinnett. De La Cruz began the season in the bullpen, but was moved to the rotation and has a 2.16 ERA over his last four starts. Overall hes 1/3 with a 4.68 ERA in 21 games.De La Cruz pitched eight innings against Charlotte in his most recent start.I talked to the guys and hes stretched out and good to go, Snitker said. Hes been up here a couple times and hasnt pitched. Were going to put him to work.Salazar will make his 15th start of the season in Clevelands final appearance at Turner Field. Salazar (9-3, 2.40) has second-best ERA in the American League.dddddddddddd He has faces the Braves only one time, going four innings and allowing two earned runs in his fifth career start. Salazar is 1-5 with a 4.07 ERA in nine career interleague starts.Foltynewicz will make one more rehab start with Triple-A Gwinnett before he is activated. He threw five scoreless innings and allowed one hit last week.Perez isnt like to be ready to return until the All-Star break and Gant is expected to miss no less than a month. The organization would like to see Blair get three to five starts in Triple-A before he is returned to the majors.Cleveland got a bit of good news on the injury front when manager Terry Francona reported that outfielder Michael Brantley has been hitting balls off a tee.Brantley has been sidelined with a sore shoulder since May 10. He had a cortisone shot and rested for five days before resuming activity. He has been taking 50-55 swings off the tee and his progress will be reassessed when the team returns to Cleveland.He didnt feel anything other than feeling good, Francona said. Well have more of a schedule after we get off this trip.Brantley is hitting .231 with seven RBI in 11 games. ' ' '