Tim Duncan and Tony Parker powered an early 14-0 spurt and the
San Antonio Spurs cruised past the Utah Jazz 109-84 and into the
NBA finals yesterday for the third time in five years.
The Spurs took all the suspense out of it by taking a 23-point
lead early in the second quarter. Although Utah got an emotional
lift at halftime when Derek Fisher arrived from New York, where his
infant daughter was getting medical care for a rare eye condition,
the only thing in doubt by then was whether San Antonio will play
the Detroit Pistons or Cleveland Cavaliers in the finals, according
to The Associated Press.
The finals begin a week from today in San Antonio, regardless of
who comes out of the East. The Pistons-Cavaliers series is tied
2-2, with Game 5 today in Detroit.
"It's great, it's about the journey," Duncan said. "Last year we
had a tough finish, this year to come back, put the team together
and to go through three really, really good teams to get here, it's
tremendous."
Having a nine-day layoff before the next round was part of the
motivation behind San Antonio's get-it-over-with approach to Game
5. After all, the Spurs have the oldest roster in the league, so
they're both wise enough to value not giving the underdogs any hope
and eager to avoid another trip to Utah.
San Antonio led only 16-11 when the game-breaking stretch began
with Parker cutting through several big guys and making a tough
layup. Over the next 2:13, Parker had seven more points, plus a
perfect lob that Duncan slammed with as much authority as he ever
does.
Then Bruce Bowen capped the blitz with a 3-pointer from the left
corner that put the Spurs up 30-11. They'd made eight straight
shots, were 12-of-16 for the game, and were outrebounding the Jazz
13-4.
"Tonight we played great, everybody from the starting five to
bench, everybody hit shots," Parker said. "I think we won that game
in the first quarter."
Duncan and Parker each finished with 21 points and Manu Ginobili
scored only 12. None of them played in the fourth quarter – it was
that much of a blowout.
By getting to the finals, San Antonio continues its bizarre
trend of dominating the league in odd-numbered years since Duncan
arrived for the 1997-98 season. The Spurs won it all in 1999, 2003
and '05, and even came close in the lone exception, losing the 2001
conference finals to the eventual champs, the Los Angeles
Lakers.
The looks on the faces of the Jazz players showed their
disappointment throughout the game. Andrei Kirilenko ended up
leading Utah with 13 points. Deron Williams and Matt Harpring each
scored 11. Carlos Boozer had nine on 3-of-10 shooting and Fisher
had only two free throws in 15 minutes.
In their first conference finals since 1998, the Jazz were no
match for the Spurs, especially in San Antonio.
After taking a seven-point lead in the first quarter of the
first game, Utah didn't lead during any of the other 11 quarters
played here and has now lost 19 straight games on the Spurs' home
court.
(Shanghai Daily May 31, 2007)