However San Antonio pulled away again and held on to clinch the best-of-seven series 4-3, after the previous six games had all gone the way of the home team.
Manu Ginobili, San Antonio's Argentine star, led the way for the visitors with 26 points, five rebounds and five assists while point guard Tony Parker contributed 17 points and Tim Duncan scored 16.
"This was huge for us. Being on the road, moving on to the conference finals... "
Tim Duncan,
San Antonio forward |
"It just happened that I made a lot of shots in the first half," Ginobili said.
"In the second, I didn't play as good but we played solid and we kept them to 82 points which is great for us.
"It was great team work."
David West top-scored for the Hornets with 20 points, as New Orleans posted a franchise-record 56 victories in the regular season.
Chris Paul, a first-year All Star, was held to 18 points and eight rebounds.
Comeback complete
"We did a very good job on him [Paul] and we've got to give Tony [Parker] and Bruce [Bowen] a lot of credit for that," Ginobili added.
"Chris Paul is a heck of a player. He is very smart and good finishing at the paint so it was a tough job.
"But they did unbelievable work in the last two games."
The Spurs, who have won four NBA titles in the last nine seasons, had to come back from 2-0 and 3-2 down in the series to reach the conference final with a rare road win.
"We believe we can win on the road," Duncan said.
"It didn't happen in the first three [games] but we really did believe we had a chance to win here and get it done.
"This was huge for us. Being on the road, moving on to the conference finals, the situation that we were down 2-0, a lot of different factors come into it.
"Just to sustain everything that they gave us and to find a way to win, this is a huge series for us."