Jazz Lose Another
Tim Duncan and Tony Parker are making the Western Conference finals look way too easy.
Duncan had 26 points and 14 rebounds, and Parker lived up to his pledge of giving the Utah Jazz “no hope” by sinking all six of his first-half shots, helping the San Antonio Spurs build a big halftime lead that turned into a 105-96 victory in Game 2 of the series Tuesday night..
Parker finished with 17 points and 14 assists, his most ever in a playoff game. Manu Ginobili added 17 points as the Spurs took a 2-0 lead, moving halfway to reaching the NBA finals for the third time in five years.
They got this close by outlasting the Phoenix Suns in a tense second-round series many considered the de facto conference finals, if not the NBA finals – and, so far, Utah has done little to dismiss that theory.
The Jazz never led in this game, and haven’t led since the seventh minute of the opener. While Carlos Boozer bounced back from a poor game and the club started strong, a second straight second-quarter meltdown left Utah trailing by 17 at halftime and 22 a few minutes into the third quarter. They got within seven in the final period, but were always turned away by big baskets from San Antonio’s playoff-tested veterans.
Now the Jazz are headed home trailing 0-2 for the second time this postseason.
They fought back in the first round against Houston, but Yao Ming, Tracy McGrady and the Rockets are no comparison to Duncan, Parker and the Spurs, champions in 2005 and ’03. Plus there’s this bit of history to overcome: Only two of the previous 57 teams to lose the first two games of a conference finals have advanced.
Utah coach Jerry Sloan has several days to come up with some way to do it. Game 3 isn’t until Saturday night and the next two games will be in Salt Lake City, where the Jazz are 6-0 this postseason.
“They’re a much better home team,” Duncan said. “We’re looking for a dog fight.”
Boozer led Utah with 33 points and 15 rebounds, and Deron Williams had another strong game with 26 points and 10 assists. Andrei Kirilenko had 15 points and Mehmet Okur scored 11, but the Jazz rarely had two players clicking at the same time.
The Spurs controlled this game almost as easily as the opener, which ended with a deceivingly close 108-100 score. The Jazz had a big finish against a tired, disinterested team, which is why Parker said Monday that San Antonio needed to keep Utah from picking up where it left off.
Leading only 33-29 in the second quarter, the Spurs broke the game open by getting easy baskets in the lane or sucking in the defense and passing it back out for wide open 3-pointers; Brent Barry hit three and Michael Finley added another. A 15-5 spurt was followed soon after by an 8-2 run to end the half leading 58-41. The Spurs could’ve had more but Duncan missed a last-second shot that he and Robert Horry walked to the locker room laughing about.
The Jazz, meanwhile, were just shaking their heads. After a 31-16 rout in the second quarter of Game 1, they were outscored 32-17 this time. Their futility was best summed up by Okur hitting the side of the backboard, getting the rebound, then shooting an air ball on an 8-foot hook shot.
Utah made a couple of dents in the second half, but never enough.
After getting within 11 late in the third quarter, the Jazz let Ginobili get free for a layup, then a buzzer-beating 3-pointer that sent Duncan jumping off the bench to give his teammate a congratulatory slap on the rear. Duncan also pointed to Barry, acknowledging his assist.
Then the Jazz made it 83-76 early in the fourth, only to get pushed back by a trio of 3s from Bruce Bowen, a baseline dunk by Finley and a layup from Ginobili. The lead was back to 15 until Utah made another too-little, too-late challenge at the end.
San Antonio shot 13-of-26 on 3-pointers, setting a franchise playoff record for makes. Barry and Bowen were each 3-for-3 behind the arc for all nine of their points. Finley scored 11. Starting center Fabricio Oberto was 6-of-7 for 14 points.
The stat that will please Spurs coach Gregg Popovich the most: San Antonio outrebounded Utah 44-35.
Notes: Duncan had 20 points and 10 rebounds for the 11th straight game. … Boozer cracked 30 points for the fifth time this postseason. … Utah’s Derek Fisher cut the inside of his bottom lip when called for a blocking foul on Ginobili in the first quarter. During a timeout, he showed the bloody mess to official Jack Nies as proof the call should’ve been against Ginobili. … Unlike Game 1, this was a sellout. Where were they Sunday? Spurs forward Bruce Bowen guessed fans were at church instead – even though it was an afternoon game. “Special service,” he said, smiling. “They were praying for us.” … The Spurs’ 18 straight home wins over the Jazz is the longest such streak in the NBA. Second-longest? San Antonio’s 17 in a row over Golden State. … Popovich tied Sloan for fifth on the all-time playoff wins list. Both have 86.
By: Marc Young – theSpread.com – Email Us
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