Spurs find rhythm against Jazz
NEW YORK: The San Antonio Spurs held off a fourth-quarter rally by the Utah Jazz to win their Western Conference finals opener 108-100 on Sunday.
Tim Duncan scored 27 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and Manu Ginobili added 23 points and 10 assists as the hot-shooting Spurs sank nearly 55 percent of their shots.
Frenchman Tony Parker contributed 21 points and six assists for the Spurs, who held an 18-point fourth-quarter lead before the Jazz charged back behind an inspired Deron Williams.
Williams scored 18 of his career-high 34 points in the final period as Utah came within seven before free throws carried San Antonio to the win.
Game Two is set for San Antonio on Tuesday.
"I thought we played well in the first half," Parker told reporters. "We played great defense. We didn't let the easy baskets for Carlos Boozer."
But the fourth quarter was a different story.
"We didn't play that well," Parker said. "They got back in the game and we gave them confidence a little bit."
Aggressive play
San Antonio Spurs' Manu Ginobili (20), from Argentina, goes to the hoop against Utah Jazz guard Gordan Giricek (right), of Croatia, during Game 1 of their NBA Western Conference Final playoff basketball series in San Antonio, Texas on Sunday. Reuters |
No one had more confidence in the period than Williams.
After scoring 16 points in the first three quarters, the second-year guard made seven of eight field-goal attempts in the fourth, including a three-pointer that brought Utah within 105-98 with 22 seconds remaining.
"I tried to be a little more aggressive," Williams told reporters. "Guys were struggling from the field a little bit so I tried to get going offensively.
"I got a couple jumpers in there. The lane opened up a lot in the second half. I tried to get down and draw some fouls and things like that," added Williams, who had nine assists and seven rebounds for the game.
The only shot he missed in the fourth quarter was a three-point attempt with three seconds remaining.
"He definitely carried the team tonight," Jazz forward Andrei Kirilenko told reporters. "He kept the game going for us and if we had won, you would say he won it for us."
Carlos Boozer added 20 points and 12 rebounds for the Jazz, who lost their seventh straight playoff opener on the road.
Utah scored the game's first seven points, but San Antonio recovered to take a 23-20 edge after the opening quarter. The Spurs went on an 8-2 run to begin the second quarter and led by 18 with 3:53 left in the first half.
Duncan scored 14 points in the second quarter and ended the half with 20 points. It marked the 10th straight playoff game in which he had at least 20 points and 10 rebounds.
In the East, Cleveland Cavaliers face Detroit Pistons.
Agencies
(China Daily 05/22/2007 page24)
