The difference here was the Dallas/NO game wasn't nearly as tight in the second half as the SA/Phoenix game was. Paul had a great 3rd quarter and his 15 points erased a 12 point lead but he didn'thave a great first half and going into the 4th NO was cruising as Dallas did what they do best, fade down the stretch, they had a miserable shooting 4th quarter to go along with a miserable shooting night in general, props to Paul for his debut but I thought this game was decided midway through the 3rd, NO as a team looked strong and Dallas was beginning their choke job, Paul had 9 in the 4th and NO was spreading the love by that point, Peja had 2 huge 3's in the 4th that just turned the screws on Dallas. Again, great job by a legit MVP contender, but this wasn't exactly all him, it was a good team effort in the 3rd with him leading the way.
SA was in a war from the opening tip, they only trailed by 8 at the half and had to battle a pretty big front line and an impressive effort by Stoudemire who shot 50% and went for 33 points his own self. In this, Duncan showed poise, patience, and an ability to put his team on his back, this despite only taking 3-4 shots in the 2nd, he was nails when it counted against a pretty solid effort by a team that is hands down better than the Dallas team Paul and Co. faced. and in the pressure cooker of 2 overtimes, Duncan and Co. did not wilt, they fought like champions should, with Duncan leading the way.
When Paul turns in a game under pressure like that in the post-season, I will acknowledge it, until then, he is not in Duncan's league, and this is coming from a Laker fan boys and girls, I think I beat MSC for objectivity in this post