Duncan earns his Spurs again
SAN ANTONIO: Tim Duncan has 26 points and 14 rebounds as San Antonio broke open a close game in the second quarter in posting a 105-96 win over Utah in game two of the Western Conference finals on Tuesday.
France's Tony Parker had 17 points and a career playoff-high 14 assists and Manu Ginobili also scored 17 points for San Antonio, which set a team playoff record with 13 three-pointers.
"They are a tough team and they are not going to give up," Duncan said. "They play from the beginning to the end but we will take the lead"
San Antonio will look to take a commanding 3-0 lead on Saturday in Utah.
San Antonio Spurs' Manu Ginobili (right) battles for the ball against Utah Jazz' Matt Harpring during Game 2 of their NBA Western Conference Final playoff basketball series in San Antonio, Texas on Tuesday. Reuters |
Duncan, who connected on 10-of-15 from the floor and also added five blocks, had his 11th consecutive playoff game with at least 20 points and 10 rebounds.The nine-time All-Star leads all active players with 23 20-point, 10-rebound postseason efforts.
Since the 1998 playoffs - Duncan's first - the Spurs are 11-1 all-time when they take a 2-0 lead in a series.
The only negative was a Western semi-final loss in six games to the Los Angeles Lakers.
San Antonio opened the second quarter on a 16-7 run to build a two-point first-quarter lead to 42-31 with 5:24 left in the half. Ginobili had five points in the burst and Parker added four.
"We kept shooting ourselves in the foot," said Jazz coach Jerry Sloan. "They took advantage our inability to see what is going on."
After Deron Williams cut the Jazz deficit to 52-41 with 1:44 remaining, the Spurs ended the period on a 6-0 spurt, capped by a shot from the arc by Barry, giving them a 58-41 halftime lead.
San Antonio made five-of-eight three-pointers in the quarter.
Ginobili, Michael Finley, Bruce Bowen and Brent Barry all made three three-pointers for the Spurs, who finished 13-of-26 from the arc.
The previous record was 12 against the Sacramento Kings in game two of the 2006 Western Conference first round.
San Antonio was in control throughout despite a strong game by Carlos Boozer, who rebounded from a 20-point, seven-of-17 performance in game one, to finish with 33 points and 15 rebounds.
The Jazz, in the Western Conference finals for the first time since 1998, have now lost 18 straight games in San Antonio, dating to 1999.
"This series, it takes four wins. We're down by two, but we have to keep fighting, keep competing. That's all we can do," Utah forward Andrei Kirilenko said. "I don't know what they're doing special. But we're kind of frustrated. We have three days off so we can analyze everything and get back with a different attitude."
Game 3 is Saturday in Salt Lake City.
Meanwhile, the team was fined $50,000 for failing to make its players available for a required media session, the NBA said Tuesday.
The Spurs were given the day off Monday after a tough stretch of five games in nine days and missed their mandatory meeting with reporters.
AFP
(China Daily 05/24/2007 page24)
